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TWENTIETH CENTURY TEXT-BOOKS 



THE STORY OF 
THE ANCIENT NATIONS 

A TEXT-BOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOLS 

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 
Washington, D. C. 

BY 

WILLIAM L. WESTERMANN 

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN 




D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK CHICAGO 

1912 






Copyright. 1912, by 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



4 sr* 



PREFACE 

There is no other branch oi history taught in our High Schools in 
which so much new material lias come to light during the past forty 
years as in ancient history. No other of the larger divisions of 
historical study has been so rarely presented in our Universities by 
men well acquainted with the primary sources of information and 
abreast of the changes which each year's excavations have brought. 
Much of the best source material is not yet available, in translated 
form, to the teacher. As a result the High School teacher of ancient 
history is, to an unusual degree, at the mercy of his text-book and 
the more scholarly histories which may bo at his command. 

This text-book has been written with the desire to put into the hands 
of High School teachers and pupils, in simple and concrete form, the 
story of the development of ancient civilization as it appears in 
the light of the historical material recently discovered. It is the 
outcome of more than a decade of teaching, both in High School 
and University classes, during which the writer's respect for the 
spirit of the Greek and Roman world and his interest in its achieve- 
ment have continually ripened with increased acquaintance. 

The attempt has been made to present the progress of ancient 
civilization as a continuous and unified process. The writer has 
felt it necessary to give, in simple terms, as much of the business 
and social background as the limited space afforded by the crowded 
High School curriculum might permit. The pupil must, above all, 
become acquainted with the great historic figures of antiquity and 
their place in the world's work; but these historic personalities 
must be seen as moving in an atmosphere of real life. Otherwise 
they move as puppets without background or scenery and no 
amount of clever and epigrammatic characterization can vitalize 
them. 

Wherever possible, quotations have been taken from the pag< - 
ancient rather than modern historians for the reason that the 
former are usually more simple in expression as well as more valu- 



Vi PREFACE 

able historically. The illustrations, with the exception of a few 
carefully selected restorations, are almost entirely drawn from 
ent sour. - 

It is a pleasure to the author to feel that the general character of 
this text-hook is in close accord with the suggestions embodied in 
the recent report of the Committee of Five oi the American Histori- 
cal Association embodied in their booklet upon the "Study oi His- 
tory in Schools." This agreement, however, was not oi his design- 
ing, as the text was completed before the report appeared. 

The writer is grateful to many friends for suggestions made by 
them which have taken form here and there in the text. He lias 
been materially helped, both in proof-reading and in pedagogical 
criticism, by Professors Fred Duncalf of the University of Texas, 
August Krey oi the University of Illinois (formerly of the South 
Division High School of Milwaukee), and Jesse Wrench of the 
University of Missouri, and he gratefully acknowledges his indebted- 
ness to them. 

The publishers deserve mention for their patience and the careful 
and competent criticism to which they have continually subjected 
this book in the process of its growth. It has undergone searching 
and thorough review at the hands of the following: Mr. J. Her- 
bert Eow. Manual Training High School. Brooklyn. New York: 
Mr. A. C. Shong, Principal West Division High School. Milwaukee. 
Wis.: Mr. J. R. H. Moore. Manual Training High School. In- 
dianapolis, Indiana: Mr. P. T. Campbell. Public Latin School. 
Boston, Mass.: and Miss Abby Barstow Pates. Morris High 
School. New York City. Their knowledge of the needs and 
difficulties of the pupil of High School age has been an invaluable 
aid to the writer. He. however, is alone responsible for the entire 
work and desires merely to thank them for their interest and 
stance. 

W. L. Westermanx. 
March. 1912. 

Madison. Wis. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

1 



Introduction 

p vRT i—THE EARLY CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT 
AND WESTERN ASIA 

CHAPTER 

I. Ancient Egypt ' 

II. The Spread of Egyptian Civilization 21 

III. Babylonian Civilization 31 

IV. The Peoples Who Spread the Civilization of the 

East 4 * 2 

V. The Phoenicians and Hebrews. — The Growth of 

Trade with the West 51 

VI The End of the Development of the Oriental 

Nations 0w 

PART n— THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

VII. Hellas and the Hellenes '9 

VIII. Early Hellenic Civilization as Shown in the 

Homeric Poems s ' 

IN. The Spreading of the Greeks Along the 

Mediterranean Shore 93 

X. Democracy Develops in Attica 101 

XL Development of Spartan Life and of Spartan 

Leadership in the Peloponnesus HI 

NIL The Westward Expansion of Persia Threatens 

to Destroy Greek Civilization 120 

XIII. The Deli an League and the Growth of Athenian 

Power 134 

XIV. The State System of Athens at the Height of 

Her Greatness 1-io 

vii 



Vlll 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

XV. The Intellectual Greatness of Athens in the 

Fifth Century 153 

XVI. The Poweb of the Athenian Empire Broken. — 

Peloponnesian War 105 

XVII. The Western Greeks on the Defensive against 

Carthage: The Fatal Lack of Unity .... 174 

XVIII. The Uniti of Greece Brought About by the 

Macedonian Conquest 187 

XIX. Alexander the Great 199 

XX. The End of the Greek States 215 

XXI. The Eellenizing of the East and its Industrial 

Life 225 

XXII. The Intellectual Life of the Hellenistic Ace . 233 



PART 111— THE STORY OF ROME 

XXIII. Italy Its People and Early History .... 245 

XXIV. The Old Roman State 255 

XXV. The Spread of the Power of Rome over Italy . . '203 

XXVI. Rome and Carthage Begin a Wab fob Supremacy 

in the West 279 

XXVII. Hannibal in Italy. — Rome Becomes Supreme in 

the West 291 

XXVIII, The Government OF the Roman State .... 303 
XXIX. Rapid Eastward Expansion and the Hellenizlng 

OF Rome 314 

XXX. The Chance in Roman Life 322 

XXXI. The Gracchi and the Democratic Parti . . . 331 
XXXII, The Struggle Between the Popular and Sena- 

tobial Parties Continues 341 

XXXIII. The Rise of Cesar to Sole Leadership . . . 354 

XXXIV. C.esau Rets an End to the Roman Republic . 307 
XXXV. Augustus lnd the Founding of the Empire . . 370 

XXXVI, The Imperial Literature and Spirit 391 

XXXVII, The Development of the Empire During the 

First Century \. d 300 

XXXVIII. Christianity \nd mc Empire in the Eirst Cen- 
tury 409 



CHAPTER 

XXXIX. 

XL. 

XLI. 

XI. II. 
XLIIT. 

XL1V 

XLV. 



CONTENTS » 

PAGE 

The Empire at a Stand-still 422 

Tin: Decline of C.keco-Roman Civilization in 

the Third Century 437 

The Fourth Century.— The Victory of Chris- 
tianity 451 

The Barbarians Break into the Empire ... 461 
The Attempt to Reestablish the Old Roman- 
Empire *'* 

The Development of Roman-Teutonic Civiliza- 
tion in Western Europe 4S2 

The Spread of Mohammedanism in the East — 
The Papacy and the Carolinians Rule the 

West *9! 

Summary of Ancient Civilization 498 

Historical Synopsis and List of Events and 

Dates ^ 

Questions for Informal Discussion 513 

Books for Supplementary Reading 523 

Pronouncing Vocabulary and Index . . . 533 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Stone Implements of the Paleolithic Age 3 

St one Lance-Head and Knife of the Neolithic Age 3 

Ancient Egyptian Weapons of Bronze 3 

Sketch of Reindeer Made Upon Slate by Cave-Dwellers of the Old 

Stone Age 4 

A Portion of the Rosetta Stone 9 

Hunting the Hippopotamus < n the Nile 12 

Old Egyptian House 13 

Egyptian Bartering a Necklace for Onions 14 

Statues of Rahotep and His Wife, Nefert 14 

Horus and Anubis Leading Rameses II 16 

Mummy Wrapped in Its Swathmgs 17 

Pyramid of Khufu, the Sphinx, and the Temple of the Sphinx . . IS 

Ruins of the Great Temple of Ancient Thebes 19 

Two Companies of Negro Soldiers in the Egyptian Army .... 22 

Ships of Queen Hatshepset, Aunt of Thothmes III 26 

Ruins of the Colossal Statues of Amenhotep III at Thebes ... 27 

Rameses II in His Chariot of War 29 

Ancient Babylonian Writing 32 

Hammurabi Receiving His Laws from the Sun-God 35 

Palace of an Assyrian King with Platform Temple 38 

Hittite Warrior 43 

Cretan Seal Representing the Minotaur 45 

Lion Gate and Entrance to the Palace at Mycena? 46 

Cretan Work in Fine. Porcelain 47 

Painted Cretan Vase 47 

Young Cretan Girl 48 

Cretan Vase of Hard Stone 48 

Phoenician Fleet of An Assyrian King 51 

Engraved Phoenician Gem 54 

Hebrew Women and Child of the Peasant Class 54 

Restoration of a Bronze Column from the Temple at Jerusalem . 57 

Israelites Bearing Tribute to an Assyrian King 59 

Tiglath-Pileser Besieging a Walled City 63 

Ashurbanipal Banqueting with His Queen 65 

Assyrians Flaying their Captives 66 

xi 



Xll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Lydian Gold Coin of Croesus 69 

A Persian Archer 73 

King Darius Piercing a Rebel with His Lance 73 

Mountain and Valley Landscape in Thessaly 80 

Coastline and Mountains of the Peloponnesus M 

Bust of Hermes, the God of the Streets 82 

Early Mycenaean Greek Yase-Painting 83 

Achilles Slaying Hector SS 

Odysseus Slaying the Suitors SS 

Study of Homer .•••■" 89 

Old Greek Vase-Painting of the Early Homeric Period 90 

Athenian Vase 94 

Greek Ship with One Bank of Oars 95 

Silver Tetradrachm of Syracuse 95 

Silver Drachma of Trapezus 90 

Vase-Painting of the Sixth Century b. c 97 

Great Temple and Altar of Zeus at Olympia 102 

The Stadium Race (210-Yard Dash) 103 

Broad Jump with Weights 103 

Four-Horse Chariot Race 104 

A Greek Hoplite 115 

Fragments of a Column Dedicated by Croesus in the Temple of 

Artemis at Ephesus 122 

Piece of Pottery Found at Athens with the Name and Deme of 

Themistocles Upon It 128 

Supposed Arrangement of Rowers on a Trireme 128 

Man Carrying a Calf to Sacrifice 132 

Fragment of a Decree of the Athenian Boule and Assembly . . . 130 

Part of the Old "Walls of Themistocles Around Athens 138 

Ancient Bust of Pericles 141 

A Greek Bronze Foundry 147 

Scene in a Vase-painter's Studio 148 

The Barber 148 

Sophocles L56 

The Acropolis at Athens as it Appears To-day 158 

Doric. Ionian, and Corinthian Columns 159 

Rearing Horse from the Parthenon Frieze 100 

Ruins of the Parthenon at Athens 101 

The Discus-Thrower of Myron 162 

Copy of the Head of a Statue of Athena by Phidias 162 

Medea 172 

A Ballista, or Stone-Thrower 175 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xiii 

PAGE 

Formation of the Battle of Leuctra 183 

Bust of Socrates 185 

Demosthenes 191 

Bust of Plato 193 

View of the Seats and Orchestra of the Old Greek Theater at 

Epidaurus 196 

Head of the Hermes of Praxiteles 197 

Apollo Playing with a Lizard 197 

At the Shoemaker's Shop 199 

Greek Furniture 200 

Head of Alexander 202 

Portrait-Bust of Alexander 203 

Remains of the Theater of Dionysus at Athens 211 

The Dying Gaul 218 

Greek Youth Wearing Chlamys and Hat 226 

Coin with Head of Ptolemy V of Egypt 227 

A Restoration of the Lighthouse of Pharos 230 

Greek Silver Coin Minted by Seleucus I of Syria 232 

Restoration of the Acropolis at Pergamum 237 

Boy with a Goose 238 

The Venus of Melos 238 

Etruscan Grave Monument 247 

Ancient Etruscan Urn in the Form of a House 247 

Portion of the Hadrianic Altar Showing Romulus and Remus Nour- 
ished by the Wolf 251 

Mouth of the Cloaca Maxima as it Appears To-day 253 

Ancient Urn Made in the Form of an Italian House 256 

Roman Medallion Showing the Form of the Ancient Temple of 

Vesta 257 

Restoration of the Capitoline Hill in Ancient Times 258 

A Roman Warrior 264 

Gallic Horsemen 269 

Etruscan Vase-painting of a Chariot Race 271 

Samnite Warriors Returning Home from Battle 273 

The Appian Way 274 

Engraved Razor-Blade of Carthaginian Manufacture 279 

Roman Copper Coin of About 33S b. c 281 

Sea Fight Between Two Ancient Vessels 284 

A Restoration of the Column of Duilius 286 

Carthaginian Silver Coin Issued in Spain 289 

The Ancient Alignment of Roman Troops by Maniples .... 294 

Types of Roman Helmets ... 294 



xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Three Types of the Pilum 295 

The Curule Chair, from a Roman Coin 303 

Bronze Statue of a Roman Orator of about 200 b. c 306 

Booty of War Carried in a Roman Triumphal Procession .... 317 

Scene from a Roman Comedy 324 

Terra Cotta Statuette Representing the Slave Type in Greek 

Comedy 324 

Taking the Auspices from the Sacred Chickens 326 

An Italian Ploughman 332 

A Roman Field Slave 333 

A German Warrior 343 

Leaden Bullet Used by a Slinger in the War of the Allies . . . .346 

Athenian Silver Coin Stamped with the Head of Mithradates . . 347 

Roman Coin (living the Only Trustworthy Likeness of Sulla . . 352 

Pompey the Great 354 

Gladiatorial Combat between a Samnite and a Thracian .... 354 

Marcus TuUius Cicero 356 

A Roman Lamp of the First Century 362 

Coin Showing the Head of Julius Caesar as he Looked in the Last 

Years of His Life 371 

A Roman Villa by the Sea 376 

Gladiatorial Combat ; >77 

The Youthful Octavius (Augustus Caesar) 370 

Marcus Antonius 380 

Egyptian Copper Coin with the Head of Cleopatra 381 

A Silver Pan of the Time of Augustus 386 

The Pantheon as it Stands To-day 387 

Head of Horace from a Medallion of the Third Century 394 

A Roman School 397 

Roman Writing Materials 398 

Tiberius Caesar 100 

Restoration of the Villa of Tiberius in the Island of Capri 101 

Coin with Head of Vespasian 10 1 

Ruins of the Flavian Amphitheatre at Rome 107 

View of a Corner of an Italian Walled Town in Antiquity . . 100 

A Street of Pompeii as it Looks To-day 11() 

Ruins of the Temple of Jupiter in the Forum of Pompeii . . . .411 

Wall-Painting from a Room in an Ancient Villa 414 

The Philosopher and Statesman, Seneca 120 

A Roman Soldier and a Dacian with a Dacian Hut in the Back- 
ground 423 

The Mausoleum of Hadrian, Now Called Castle St. Angelo . . . 426 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv 



i • \ < ; i . 



Marcus Aurelius Receiving the Submission of Barbarians .... 427 

A Street Scene in Rome 4 ; i() 

Column of Trajan and Ruins of the Forum of Trajan 431 

Soldiers of the Praetorian Guard 4 ;^ s 

Gold Coin with the Head of Julia Domna 4;;, • , 

Mosaic from the Province of Africa 44() 

Ruins of Palmyra 44 * 

A Part of Aurehan' s Wall, as it. Now Stands 444 

Coin with Head of Diocletian 445 

A Restoration of the Roman Forum as it Appeared about 300 a. d. . 447 

Earlv Christian Statue of the Good Shepherd 448 

Bust of Constant me l ' _ 

Arch of Constantine at Rome 4 '^ 

Gold Medallion of Theodosius 4f)7 

Fortifications along the Danube in the Time of Marcus AureHus . 461 

German Women, in One of Their Wagons, Led as Captives by 

Roman Soldiers 46() 

Roman Aqueduct near Ntmes in Southern France 471 

Tomb of Theodorie at Ravenna *'* 

• • 475 

The Emperor Justinian 

Bronze Lamp of the Fifth Century ... • • ■ • • ■ 47() 

Old Christian Mosaic in the Mosque Called Saint Sophia in Con- 

i 479 

stantinople 

AFrankish House 482 

Burgundian Clasp for a Girdle, of the Sixth Century 483 

Coin of Dagoberl 4S ; 5 

Bridge over the Moselle River at Treves 489 

An Arabian Sword 

Mohammedan Gold Coin from Spain 

Charlemagne 



LIST OF MAPS 

PAGE 

Egypt and the Nile Valley 7 

Extent of the Egyptian Empire, 1500 b. c 23 

Babylonian Kingdom of Hammurabi 34 

Areas in which Hittite and Mycenaean-Cretan Remains are Found . 44 

Map of Ancient Palestine 55 

The Four Great Kingdoms in 600 b. c 68 

Extent of the Persian Empire in 500 b. c 74 

Greece, the vEgean Sea and Asia Minor, Showing the General 

Relationship by Tribes facing 84 

Area of Greek and Phoenician Colonization about 500 b. c. .facing 98 

Extent of the Peloponnesian League 500 b. c 118 

Field of the Persian Wars, Showing Routes of the Invasions . . . 126 

Map of the Battle-field of Salamis 130 

Long Walls Connecting Athens and the Piraeus 139 

The Delian and Peloponnesian Leagues and their Allies before 

the Peloponnesian War facing 166 

Territory and Dependencies of Dionysius of Syracuse 175 

Route Travelled by the 10,000 Greeks under Cyrus the Younger . 178 

Macedon in the Time of Philip 189 

Extent of Alexander's Empire and the Routes which his Army 

Travelled 208 

The Four Great Kingdoms of Alexander's Successors . . . facing 216 

Extent of the Continents According to Eratosthenes 234 

Early Italy and its Important Peoples facing 248 

The Mediterranean World and its Peoples in 500 b. c. . . facing 256 

Roman Territory in 350 b. c 272 

Italy at the Time of the Samnite Wars and the Wars with Pyrrhus . 277 

Scene of the First Punic War 282 

The Field of the Second Punic War 296 

The Mediterranean Powers at the End of the Second Punic War . . 300 

Extent of the Roman Possessions in 133 b. c 321 

Asia Minor at the Beginning of the Mithradatic Wars 348 

Extent of Roman Power in the East at the End of the Mithradatic 

Wars 359 

Extent of the Roman Empire at the Death of Augustus .... 388 
Map of the Journeys of Paul in the Eastern Mediterranean Lands . 417 

xvi 



LIST OF MAPS xvn 

PAGIl 

Roman Empire After the Conquests of Trajan, and the Great 

Roman Roads 424 

Early Homes of the Germanic Tribes and the Huns 464 

Germanic Kingdoms and the Roman Empire at the Accession of 

Justinian, 526 a. d facing 480 

Germanic Kingdoms and the Roman Empire at the Death of Jus- 
tinian, 565 a. d facing 480 

Frankish Kingdom at the Death of Dagobert 486 

Extent of Christianity under Pope Gregory the Great, 590-604 a. d. 487 
Extent of Christianity and Mohammedanism at the Death of 

Charlemagne, 814 a. d 497 



THE STORY OF 
THE ANCIENT NATIONS 

INTRODUCTION 

1. Ancient History and Its Important Nations.— It has 
taken thousands of years for man to develop from his early 
state of savagery and helplessness to the condition in 
which we now live. In order to understand thoroughly our 
present life, it is necessary to study the slow growth of man- 
kind through these past ages. N This story or record of the 
past life and development of man is the science called his- 
tory. That part of the story which is commonly called 
"Ancient History" covers over 4.000 years, extending from 
the time when first we know of men through reliable records, 
down to about 800 years after the birth of Christ. 

It is not necessary, however, to take up the story of all 
the nations which lived upon the earth during that long 
stretch of time. We can deal only with those which have 
done most in developing the ideas that have given to us the 
present civilized life of Europe and America; for our own 
American society is so like that of Europe, that it is safe to 
speak of the two as the European-American civilization 
of to-day. The nations of ancient times which made 
the greatest contributions to this civilization were the early 
Egyptians, the Babylonians, and Assyrians, the Cretans, 
the Hittites. the Hebrews, the Greeks, the Romans, and the 
early Germans. Upon them, therefore, our study will be 
centered. All of them belong to the White Race of mankind, 
not to the Yellow or Black Races. It is the White Race which 
has done the most in advancing the civilization of the world. 

2. Kinds of Historical Sources. — The sources from which 
we learn the events of a people' s history, their methods 
of life and ways of thinking, may be divided into two classes: ' 
the monumental and the written evidence. 



2 THE STORY OF THE ANCIENT NATIONS 

The monumental sources include all those remains acci- 
dentally left to us by any nation, which tell us of the religion, 
architecture and art, or the dress of this nation, or of any 
other side of its life. These sources may include the contents 
of graves, such as bodies, pottery, and implements of many 
kinds. The statues which are dug up from the ruins of old 
cities, and the remains of the houses and temples tell us of 
the artistic skill of the people. Coins are often found where 
the peoples of antiquity lived, and from these scholars derive 
information regarding the extent and nature of their com- 
mercial life. The pictures painted on the walls of houses 
or in tombs help us to form some knowledge of the daily 
life and habits of the race. 

The written sources include, first of all, books of every 
kind, especially histories written by men of these ancient 
nations. Almost as important is the information we gain 
from inscriptions. These are records cut into tablets of 
stone or bronze, or upon the sides of stone tombs and tem- 
ples. They give us the laws passed by the kings and assem- 
blies, records which at the present day are printed and filed 
in the government archives. The tomb inscriptions tell us 
the names and deeds of the kings or the great men whose 
bodies rested there. On the bases of statues we read the 
names of the artists who carved beautiful works in stone. 

In addition to histories and inscriptions, the stories told 
by the ancient peoples about their early history maybe 
used, with caution, to complete the picture. These are the 
legends of their gods and heroes, handed down for centuries 
by word of mouth. They are generally classed under one 
head and called "oral tradition. ,, Although not very 
trustworthy as to the events narrated, they show what these 
peoples thought about their own past, and sometimes give 
us vague hints regarding actual events. 

3. Prehistoric Ages. — The history of a people really be- 
gins at the time when first they become known to us through 
'some reliable written narrative. It is then that individuals 
and separate events begin to stand out clearly. The life of 
the races before that time, in what is called the "prehistoric 



INTRODUCTION 3 

period," can only be known to us in general outlines. The 
study of this period is a science by itself, called Prehistoric 
Archaeology. 

The prehistoric ages of man's development stretch back 
for unknown thousands of years. During this time, man 
was slowly learning by bitter experience to light fires, to 






Stone Implements of the 
Paleolithic Age. 



Stone Lance-Head and Knife of 
the Neolithic Age. 



cook food, and to tame and make use of some of the gentler 
animals, such as the dog and the horse. Then came the 
knowledge of the value of certain kinds of grain, and the 
raising of crops. This long space of time has been divided 
by historians into four periods, according to the material 
used in making hatchets, 
knives, spearheads, and ar- 
row heads: 

1. The Paleolithic or Rough 
Stone Age. 
The Neolithic or Polished 

Stone Age. 
The Bronze Age. 
The Iron Age. 
The change from savage or 
barbarous ways of living to what we call " civilized" life, 
did not take place at one time in all parts of the earth. Some 
tribes of the Philippine Islands, of Australia, Africa, and 
South America are still using tools made of bone and stone. 
Even now they are in the state of savagery characteristic of 



2. 

3. 

4. 




Ancient Egyftian Weapons of Bronze. 



4 THE STORY OF THE ANCIENT NATIONS 

the Stone Age. Yet, at least 6,000 years ago, the Egyptians 
were a cultured people, far advanced in the civilization of 
the Bronze Age and to a limited extent they even used iron 
tools. 

4. Stone-Age Remains in Europe.— The European coun- 
tries offer the best chance to study the Stone Age, for the 
museums of Europe contain thousands of articles which 
tell a little of the life and habits of the Stone-Age men. In 




Sketch op Reindeer made upon Slate by Cave-Dwellers of the Old Stone Age 

Found in a cave in Prance. 



the Paleolithic Ag?, arrow-heads and hatchets were made of 
chipped flint, very like the arrow-heads of our own American 
Indians. Those who made them did not even grind down 
the edges for cutting. With remains of these stone imple- 
ments, dug up from the gravel-beds in various parts of 
Europe, archaeologists have found the teeth and bones of 
savage animals which no longer exist on that continent. 
These are the mammoth, or great, hairy elephant, the rhi- 
noceros, and the hippopotamus. The saber-toothed tiger, 
the cave bear, and grizzly bear lived in England during the 
Stone Age. In a cave in France a piece of ivory was found, 
on which some man of the Stone Age had carved the outlines 
of a mammoth having great curved tusks and long hair. 



INTRODUCTION 5 

From the time when man learned to extract copper from 
the ore, and shape it for tools and weapons, his advance 
towards civilized life was much more rapid. Soon he learned 
to obtain a harder material, by alloying the copper with tin. 
This gave him bronze implements, which would take a keener 
edge and keep it longer. When he learned to get iron from 
the iron ore, man was in a position to master nature and the 
physical world. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, ch. 1, 2; Hoernes, Primitive Man, 
pp. 1-44, G4, 93; Starr, First Steps in Human Progress, ch. 1-3, 6, 10, 11 ; 
Clodd, Story of Primitive Man, pp. 1-101; Joly, Man before Metals, pp. 
188-252; Tylor, Anthropology, ch. 8, 9. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Fire-making Among Primitive Peoples. — Joly, pp. 188-198; 

Tylor, Anthropology, pp. 260-268; Tylor, Early History of Man- 
kind, ch. 9. 

2. Primitive Methods of Getting Food. — Tylor, Anthropology, pp. 

2015-221. 

3. Picture Writing. — Keary, ch. 12; Tylor, pp. 167-175; Joly, pp. 

320-326. 

4. Primitive Tools and Weapons. — Joly, pp. 222-251; Tylor, ch. 8. 

5. Primitive Art.— Joly, pp. 287-311; Clodd, pp. 52-55. 



PART I 

THE EARLY CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND 
WESTERN ASIA 

CHAPTER I 



ANCIENT EGYPT 

5. The Country. — In tracing the development of the hu- 
man race, the earliest records which we find in written 
form are those of the 
peoples who lived in the 
Nile Valley in Egypt. 

Egypt is a long and 
narrow valley, from 2 to 
30 miles in width and 
about 750 miles long, if 
one follows its winding 
course. The Nile river 
has cut this great bed 
into the limestone of the 
desert to a depth of from 
600 to 1000 feet. Upon 
either side of the valley 
lie the vast spaces of 
the Libyan and Arabian 
deserts. Each year, from 
June to December, the 
river gradually rises and 
floods the valley. As 

it recedes within its banks, it leaves behind a deposit of 
mud which keeps the soil of the valley ever fertile. The 
entire area of the strip of valley which can be cultivated is 

7 




Egypt and the Nile Valley. 



8 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

about 1 0,000 square miles, or about the size of the state of 
Maryland. Because of the yearly floods, the fertility of the 
country has always been remarkable. In ancient times, 
wheal and barley gave rich harvests; and the date-palm was 
a native tree along the Nile. Vegetables, especially beans, 
peas, and lentils, formed a profitable part of Egyptian farm- 
ing. The wonderful fertility of the Nile valley explains, to 
a great extent, why civilization developed in Egypt so early. 

6. The People. — At the time when we first hear of them, 
the Egyptians were a mixed race. The original inhabi- 
tants of the land were of the same blood as the Libyans of 
Northern Africa, and the other peoples who lived in early 
times about the Mediterranean Sea; but the Egyptian lan- 
guage shows some similarity with the group of languages 
which is called Semitic. These are the languages related to 
the Arabian, Syrian, and Hebrew tongues. It is, therefore, 
supposed that in prehistoric times Egypt was overrun 
by a race from Asia which spoke a Semitic tongue. Although 
this race left its mark upon the Egyptian speech, it did 
not greatly affect the appearance or the character of the 
Egyptians. 

7. Egyptian Records. — In Egypt there still stand many 
massive stone ruins of temples and tombs, built in ancient 
times by her industrious and gentle people. The walls of 
these buildings are covered with pictures, cut in relief, 
describing the doings of the kings or other great officials. 
Oft en these pictures are explained by an inscription which 
is also cut into the stone. 

The Egyptian inscriptions are written in peculiar char- 
acters, called hieroglyphs. The hieroglyphs are made up of (1) 
picture-signs which stand for the name of an object; such as, 

^mian';^^ 'men; yj 'woman'; *nM 'women'; <§> 'face'; 

and (2) these same signs, used to represent either a consonant 
sound, or an entire syllable. 

8. The Rosetta Stone.— Up to 1800 a. d., modern his- 
torians were unable to read the hieroglyphs. About that 
time a number of French and English scholars began to 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



9 



UftttTJ 

5*±»W_1SX*3 

i mJF'r'KD&S^Vm^i.^ 

M4mA 



mn 




S u •4W> -8 W*v*iu<. 



•fa^rS.^HrtJteii'glt 




L »"vJV 



- l «i.(jj,>.iub(f./jr' ,l >'V 
xu>ton,AV< 









attack the problem of Learning their meaning. The most 
important name among them is that of Champollion, a 
young Frenchman who worked for years upon this task. 
The first key to the hieroglyphs was obtained by means of 
the Rosetta stone, a stone tablet found near the mouth of 
the Nile, on the Rosetta branch of 
the river. It contained the same 
text in the ancient Greek language 
and in two forms of hieroglyphic: 
writing. The Old Greek could be 
read, and through it the name of an 
Egyptian king was deciphered in 
the Egyptian. It was in 1822 that 
Champollion gave his first satisfac- 
tory explanation of the system of 
hieroglyphs, and now they can be 
read with comparative ease and cer- 
tainty. 

9. Nature of the Information. — 
The accidents of time have pre- 
served for us but few fragments of 
the historical annals of the Egyptian 
kings, which give the events of their 
reigns year by year. Inscriptions on 
stone recording treaties made with 
foreign peoples are but seldom fo nd, 
and our knowledge; of the political life; 
of old Egypt is 1 herefore scanty. But 
the inscriptions and the torn!) pic- 
tures give us a great mass of trust- 
worthy information about the life of 
the people, their habits, their religion, and the duties of 
some of the higher officials in the government. 

10. The Idea of the City-State. — In the early steps out 
of savagery, men united for mutual protection into tribes. 
These tribes were groups of people who thought that they 
were all descendants of some one ancestor. Blood kin- 
ship was, therefore, the chief idea in the tribal organizations. 



Jrv 









lAIU»T*«*BT.Y»l.<r*Ainl,r*Ml.»T#XTMHl>I'*«l**' 
Ml rXiiM<^irTjAt-^i»*^-w«..» "*«a >a- 'JffMJjtM 




iMI» , Will" ii '»•*.■« * •"•*■••*" «•' 



A Portion 01 the Rosetta 
Stone. 

The upper part is written in 
hieroglyphs, I he middle in the 
Inter cursive Egyptian script, 
the lower part in Greek. 



10 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

The tribal organization develops into what we call a state, 
when the leader of one tribe conquers neighboring tribes, 
and keeps in the possession of his own tribe a considerable 
extent of territory. 

In Egypt and the other countries which we shall study, the 
tribes began very early to group themselves at particular 
points into cities. The people who lived in the country 
round about these places, as far as the power of the chieftain 
or king of the place extended, were considered to be subjects 
or members of the city organization. This is different from 
our own idea of the city, in which a man is not a citizen 
unless he has his dwelling within the city limits. These 
organizations which grew up around the ancient cities were 
called city-states or city-kingdoms. 

11. The Starting-point of Egyptian History.— The point 
from which the historian must start in dealing with 
Egyptian history is the time at which the whole country, 
the Delta and the Upper Nile, was firmly united under one 
ruler. This happened under Menes, who lived about 3400 
b. c. 1 The Egyptians called their ruler the "Pharaoh" 
which means " Great House." 2 

Do not think that civilized life began suddenly in the Nile 
valley in the time of the Pharaoh Menes. During several 
thousand years before his lifetime, the dwellers along the 
Nile had passed through the tribal and city-state stage, and 
formed a unified kingdom of Egypt. They had developed 
out of the Stone Age life, and were accustomed to make and 
use bronze tools. It is probable also that by the time of 
Menes they had marked off the year into 365 days, according 
to the sun's course. The year, which began upon the first 
day of the Nile flood, consisted of twelve months arranged 
in three seasons. First came the season of the inundation, 
beginning with the feast of the god Sothis, which fell on July 

1 I follow the chronology adopted by Professor J. H. Breasted, of 
the University of Chicago. Menes may have lived several centuries 
before this date. 

2 The Turkish Sultan is called to-day "the Sublime Porte," or 
"Gate." 



ANCIENT EGYPT 11 

19, according to our reckoning. The second was the winter 
season, when the crops were sown. Lastly came the harvest 
season or summer, when the crops were gathered. 

12. Convenient Division into Periods. — An Egyptian 
priest of ancient times, named Manetho, wrote a history of 
his country in which he arranged the pharaohs in groups 
called "dynasties." Upon the basis of Manetho's divis- 
ions, modern historians treat Egyptian history under the 
following general periods: 

3400-2100 B. C. The Old Kingdom — Dynasties one to eleven. 
Seat of power chiefly at Memphis. 

2100-1800. The Middle Kingdom — Dynasties eleven to 

thirteen. Capital at Thebes. 

1800-1600. Time of Confusion and Civil War — The 

Hyksos (Shepherd Kings), a foreign dy- 
nasty, ruled Egypt for more than a century. 

1G00-1150. The Empire of Egypt and Syria — Dynas- 

ties eighteen to twenty-one. Period of 
the political greatness of Egypt. 

1150-663. The Decadence of Egyptian Power — Dyn- 

asties twenty-one to twenty-six. 

663-525. The Restoration — Dynasty twenty-six. A 

short period of revived power and active 
commerce. In 525 B. C, Egypt became a 
province of the Persian Empire. 

13. Government Under the Old Kingdom. — Under the 
Old Kingdom, which had its center at the city of Mem- 
phis, the government was already well ordered. The power 
of the pharaoh was unlimited. He lived in a great palace 
which was filled with attendants and courtiers, who waited 
upon his every need. He was regarded as a god, and was 
worshipped at a shrine placed before the immense pyramid 
which was meant to contain his body after death. He had 
general oversight and the final decision in every important 
matter which concerned his land and people, whether it was 
a military campaign, a law-suit over the ownership of land, 



12 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 



or a problem of storing up the water-supply at the time of 
the inundation. 

His country was subdivided into about forty local dis- 
tricts, called "nomes." These were under local governors 
who looked after the administration of the laws and acted 
as judges, each in his district. They sent in to the central 
government each year the taxes from their nomes. Since 
there was no system of coinage in use, the taxes were paid 




in geese, ducks, grain, and cat He. The "Chief Treasurer," 
who looked after all of these receipts, was one of the highest 
officials of the central government. 

The land belonged either to the king or to his nobles. 
The great mass of the people worked for them as serfs, and 
were inherited with the land. Kindly relations seem to have 
existed between them and their masters, and it is apparent 
that they were not seriously abused or oppressed. 

14. How the People Lived.— The nobles of Egypt lived 
well, in large houses built with a frame-work of wood cov- 
ered with mud-brick. The houses had many latticed win- 
dows, which were covered over with colored curtains when 




ANCIENT EGYPT 13 

the sandstorms blew in from the desert. The rich were 
waited on by many servants. They delighted especially in 
their large gardens, planted with fig and palm trees, with 
artificial fish-ponds among the trees. One of their greatest 
pastimes was hunting. The relief-pictures from the tombs 
give us many scenes in which these noble sportsmen are 
shown hunting the wild birds of the marshes with the throw- 
stick, a weapon somewhat like 
the boomerang. In others, <£~ 

they are seen spearing fish 
from light skiffs, or enjoying the 
more dangerous sports of har- 
pooning the hippopotamus, or 
hunting the crocodile. Some- 
limes they look their wives and 

, ., -, , . , , , •. Old Egypti \ ■■ Souse. 

children along with them, even ^ 

. „ . . from a model found in an Egyptian 

upon these trips alter big game. , om i ( . 

The life of the mass of poor 
people was not so attractive. They lived in low and crowded 
houses made of mud-brick. Each house contained but one 
room, the next house being built up against it with only a 
single wall between. Blocks of such hovels were separated 
from each other by narrow alleys rather than streets. It 
is not possible that these homes could have been very clean. 

The working-people busied themselves in the fields as 
farm-hands, helping to produce the big crops of wheat and 
barley from which most of the wealth of the country came; 
or they tended the flocks of sheep, goats, or cattle which 
fattened in the fields along the Nile. Others fished with 
nets, or snared birds for a living. The dealers in fish are 
frequently seen in the reliefs, cleaning the fish and drying 
them; for dried fish was the chief food of the poor. 

15. Beginnings of Foreign Trade. — There was no such 
thing as money in the form of regular coin, in ancient Egypt . 
The trading was done by the exchange of one thing for 
another. On the reliefs we can see the people bartering a 
fan or a necklace for a bundle of onions, or a rough piece of 
pottery for a dried fish. In the reign of Snefru (about 2900 



14 CIVILIZATION OF FCYI'T AND WESTERN ASIA 



& % mam 




Egyptian Bartering a Necklace for 

( >NION8. 
The man upon the right has a fan. 
. Egyptian relief. 



15. a), the last pharaohof the third dynasty, we find evidence 

of the beginnings of trade with foreign countries. This 
ruler, as the records tell us, built a ship 170 feet long, and 
sent a fleet of 40 ships up the Phoenician coast to obtain 

cedar from the woods of Mt. 
Lebanon. Be also developed 
the copper mines in the Sinai 
peninsula, and may be re- 
garded as the first Egyptian 
king to engage extensively in 
enterprises which lay beyond 
the narrow boundaries of 
Egypt. 

16. Art Under the Old 
Kingdom.— Near the pyra- 
mid of Snefru, explorers have found the tombs of some of 
the nobles of his court. The statues of one of these nobles 
Darned Rahotep, and of his 
wife Nefert, may still be seen 
in the Museum at Cairo, in 
Egypt. The portraits are evi- 
dently quite true to life, and 
picture a typical Egyptian 
couple of the higher class. In 
all the history of Egypt, her 
artists never showed as great 
skill and freedom in express- 
ing in stone the human face 
and figure, animal and plant 
life, as in this period. Their 
work in wood-carving was 
equally good. The portrait- 
statues were made wonder- 
fully life-like by inserting 

stones to represent the whites and pupils of the eyes. 
The artist always tried to be true to life, rather than to 
express beauty. 
17. The Religion of the Egyptians.— In their religious 




Statues of Rahotep and His Wife, 
Nefert. 



ANCIENT EGYPT 15 

ideas the Egyptians, even in the time of the Old Kingdom, 
had advanced far beyond the primitive! worship of animals 
and lifeless things, such as bark, sticks, stones, and claws. 
They had a great number of gods, many of them worshipped 
in the forms of men or women, but considered to be much 
greater and stronger than human beings. This worship of 
many gods is called polytheism. Each village had its local 
deity, to whom the villagers looked for help in time of clan- 
ger; and in addition there were greater deities, whose wor- 
ship became general. 

The Egyptian gods often appear on the reliefs in animal 
as well as in human forms. This does not. mean that the 
Egyptians of the Old Kingdom worshipped animals, but they 
thought that these typified the powers of certain gods. 
Hence arose many curious pictures of the gods and god- 
desses, one god as a hawk-headed man, another having a 
human body with a baboon's head, another having a croco- 
dile's head, one goddess wearing the head of a lioness, 
another that of a cat. Later in the history of Egypt her 
religion 'became debased, and the animals themselves re- 
ceived worship from the lower classes of the people. 

18. The Attempt to Simplify the Religion.— Early in the 
period of the Old Kingdom the worship of certain gods 
began to spread, as in the case of Osiris and Horus, of Re, 
and of Ammon, the local god of the city of Thebes; and many 
of the gods of smaller places lost their importance. Often 
the local god was combined with the greater god, as in the 
later period, when Ammon of Thebes became the national 
god over all others, and was worshipped as Aramon-llc 
Sometimes three of the gods were combined into a group, 
called a trinity, as in the case of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Of 
this trinity, the Egyptians made one family, the goddess Isis 
becoming the wife of Osiris, Horus becoming his son. This 
marks an attempt to systematize and simplify the confused 
array of gods. 

Then arose the well-known legend of Osiris and his wicked 
brother Set. It related how Set, the Evil One, put Osiris 
into a chest and threw it into the Nile. It floated out to - 



16 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

sea, but the faithful wife Isis found it at last. She buried 
Osiris, and kept the spot secret. However, Set found the 
place, tore the body to pieces, and scattered these over the 
land of Egypt. Isis hunted until she found them all, bury- 
ing each member where she found it. In those places men 
built temples to Osiris, and worshipped him. Later, when 
Horus, son of Isis and Osiris, grew to manhood, he punished 




HORUS AND ANUBIS LEADING RaMESES II. 

Relief from a temple at Abydos. 

Set in a terrible fight, and took away from him the rule over 
Egypt. Osiris became the ruler of the realm of the dead. 
By this legend the Egyptians sought to explain why Osiris 
was worshipped in so many places. 

19. Why the Egyptians Embalmed Their Dead.— The 
Egyptians of the Old Kingdom were the first people to de- 
velop a belief in the life after death. They pictured the 
future life as very like the life led by a man upon earth. 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



17 



They thought that in life there were two parts to every man, 
his body itself, and the living force in that body, which 
they called the "ka." 1 

This ka accompanied the body through life, and clung to 
it after death. Since the body was the home of the ka, it 
was necessary to preserve the body after death, so that the 
ka, or living force, might still have its old abiding place. 
So the dead person was embalmed, and a tomb built for him 
which was to be his eternal home. 

Since the dead led the same life in the next world as in 
this one, the Egyptians put food and drink in the tomb 




Mummy Wrapped in Its Swathings. 



for the ka of the dead relative. The pharaohs and great 
nobles left large endowments in their wills for the support 
of priests whose duty it was to see that the dead received 
enough food. 

The will of an unknown noble of the Fourth Dynasty con- 
tains the following clause : 

This is the decree which I have made concerning it. I have 
not given to any of my brothers, my sisters, or my daughter's 
children, inferior or assistant priests of the dead, the right to 
take lands, people, or anything which I have conveyed to them 
for the purpose of making mortuary offerings to me therewith, 
excepting to make offerings to me therewith. These are to be 
made in my eternal tomb, which is at the pyramid Great-is- 
Khafre. 

This means that the property cannot be used for any other 
purpose than to make offerings to the dead noble, and can- 
not be bequeathed or sold by the heirs. 

1 To the Egyptian this did not mean the soul, which was a separate 
thing, called the "ba." 



-•>,•*■ „ :■ 




- --Mtai i 



^itntt^c; 



18 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

20. The Pyramids. — The pharaohs, of course, demanded 
more magnificent tombs than common mortals, so they 
caused their subjects to build for their memories the massive 
pyramids which still stand along the Nile. These great 
tombs, whose mighty bulk is the admiration of all travelers 
in Egypt, stand to-day, and will stand for ages to come, as 
memorials of the power and greatness of the pharaohs of 
the Old Kingdom. The pyramid " Great-is-Khafre " stands 

in the group of 
pyramids about 
five miles west of 
the Nile, opposite 
the city of Cairo. 
The greatest and 

^ ^-i/\Yi^M3HH ^® best known of the 

::^.W^^-'-%i^^" ,. pyramids is one in 

^W^^J^^^^^^:^^^'.'.^ the same group 

■.,::■ f mm t u ,! Itb /f h ^ 

(Cheops), the first 

Pyramid of Khufu, the Sphinx, and the Temple of ^~u „ „ ^ ^u c -t-U ~ 

the sphinx. pharaoh of the 

fourth dynasty 
(2900 b. a). Herodotus, a Greek traveler of the fifth cen- 
tury b. c, gives us the following information about its 
construction, which he got from the Egyptian priests: 

They worked in relays of one hundred thousand men, con- 
tinuously, each relay for three months. The people spent ten 
years upon the ramp over which they dragged the stones, a 
work not less, in my judgment, than that of building the pyra- 
mid itself *. The ten years, I mean, were ex- 
pended upon this ramp, and the work upon the mound upon 
which the pyramids stood, and upon the chambers underground 
*. The time occupied in building the pyramid 
itself was twenty years. (Herodotus, II, 124.) 

Herodotus is probably right in regard to the number of 
men and the time employed in building this gigantic tomb. 
Its base covered thirteen acres and it measured 481 feet in 
height, and 755 feet on each side at the base. A careful 



ANCIENT EGYPT 



19 



estimate shows that in its construction about 2,300,000 stone 
blocks were used, of an average weight of two and one-half 
tons. No other single building containing so much stone 
has ever been constructed in the world's history. The 
tower of the Metropolitan Life Building in New York, one 
of the tallest struc- 
tures in our coun- 
try, is less than 200 
feet taller. 

Not far from the 
pyramid of Khufu 
is another work 
from the time of 
the Old Kingdom, 
the great stone 
Sphinx, with the 
head of one of the 
ancient pharaohs 
and the body of a 
lion, which is the 
symbol of the pha- 
raoh's might. 

21. What the 
Egyptians of the 
Old Kingdom Did 

for the World. — Ruins of the Great Temple of Ancient Thebes. 

When we make a 

summary of the knowledge attained by the ancient Egyptians 
before the year 2100 b. c, we realize what great progress they 
had made toward the civilization of our own time. They lived 
under an organized government which could give its citizens 
peace and protection. They traded among themselves, and 
even with foreign nations, but as yet without the aid of a money 
currency. They could manufacture tools and weapons of 
copper, bronze, and even of iron. They had the knowledge 
and skill necessary to carry out the gigantic engineering and 
architectural tasks of building a pyramid such as that of 
Khufu. In the arts, they had learned to make wonderfully 




'JO CIVILIZATION <>i*' EGYPT AND WESTERN \si.\ 

iinc porl raits in I h hardest kinds of stone. They knew li<>w 
lo build comfortable homes, how to enjoy life as civilized 
beings. They had ;i system <>f writing, and a Literature of 
their own. The worship <>f their many gods satisfied the 
inborn neod of man for a religion the belief in some power, 
stronger than man himself, which rules the universe. 

References for Outside Beading 

Hoignobos, indent Civili ation, oh 3; Hommol, Civilization of the 
East, Breasted, indent Egyptians, oh 3, pp 83 L02, oh. 8; Baikie, 
Story of the Phataohs, oh L, 2, I; Masporo, Andent Egypt and Assyria, 
oh i 6; Masporo i M anual of Egyptian Archaeology; Budge, The Dwellere 
on the Nile, Petrie, A History of Egypt, Vol. [. 

Topics lor Written or Oral Kcport 

I. Tm Pyramids i 1 io the index in the books oited above and the 

it i i.i. in the Encyclopaedias upon "Pyramids." 
Shopping in Egypt Masporo, Andent Egypt and Assyria, oh 2, 
;; likk op in Egyptian Noble Masporo, Lncienl Egypt and 

i syria, oh Q 
•l. Earm Egyptian ^rt Baikio, pp. 53-68; Breasted, Andent 

Egyptians, pp 98 L02j Breasted, History of Egypt, oh, 3, pp. 

s.. i LO, and oh. 8 
, r >. Egyptian Industries Masporo, M anual of Egyptian Archaology, 

pp 2< I 304; 
i, Recruits fop, ruE Egyptian Vrmy. Masporo, Andent Egypt and 

I \syria, oh. V. 



I I I ' A • • 



Washington, U. C. 



CHAPTER I! 
THE SPREAD OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATIO 

22. The Middle Kingdom. 2100 L800 B. C. The end of 
fche Old Kingdom of Egypt is a period of decline of the 
power of the pharaohs, and of increased power- among the 
nobles. This la ited from about 2600 to 2100 b i , but 
the i ime of the rise of the elevenl li dyna ity, which begin I he 
Middle Kingdom, a great change had taken place. The 
capita] city <>f the pharaohs was no longer at Memphi i, but 
at the more outhern city of Thebe Instead of building 
pyramids, the pharaohs of Thebes had immense statues of 
themselves sculptured out of solid rock, some of which 
towered to a height of fift y feet 

The rule of the pharaohs of the twelfth dynasty was very 
capable. They fought wiUi the negroes who lived to the 
south of them in Nubia. After beating the African trib< 
back to a point far south "I* the second Nile cataract (about 
I860 b. a), [Jsertesen III set up a decree cut upon stone 
slabs, which read 

This is the southern frontier, fixed in the eighth pear of his 
Majesty Khekure (U erti en III), ever-living, Let it not be 
permitted to any negro to paws Uj1h boundary northward, either 
on foot or \>y boat, nor any herds of the negroes. When any 
negro comes to trade in the land of Aken, oi on any bu iness, 
then let him be well treated. 

23. Egypt Comes Into Touch with other Peoples. 
The period of the Middle Kingdom is the time in which the 
Egyptians began to develop their trade with the race outside 
the Nile valley. 'They traded with the people who lived on 
the island of Crete, learning from them, and teaching them 
in turn. [Jsertesen III made an invasion of Syria, but lor 
what purpose we. do not know. The inscription just quoted 

21 



22 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

gives a hinl of 1 Ho trade with the Nubians. The commerce 
with southern Arabia by way of the Red Sea was made 
easier and increased, by building a canal which connected 
the Nil^ and the Red Sea. 

24. The Great Reservoir in the Fayum. — Not only did 
these pharaohs develop the trade of (hear country with for- 




Two Companies of Negro Soldiers in the Egyptian A.rmt. 
Wooden models fouiul in a tomb. 



eign peoples, but they strove equally to develop the agri- 
cultural possibilities of Egypt itself. The proof of this lies 
in the construction of a great reservoir in the district called 
the Fayum. By constructing a vast dam, the overflow of 
the Nile at the tlood time was diverted into a natural lake, 
and the water thus retained was used to irrigate the Kayuin 
district and the Delta, during the time when the river was 
low. A system of dikes was built, making it possible to 
reclaim for cultivation 27,000 acres of swamp land. 

So well was this work done, that tin 1 dam was still in use 
17(H) years later, as Strabo, :> Greek geographer of the time 
o\' Christ, tells us in his works. The importance of the 
problem i>\' irrigation tor Egypl was recently shown, when, 
in L906, the English government re-built the great dam at 
Assuan near the firsl cataracl of the Nile. The mud depos- 
ited in Lower Egypl by the Nik 4 during many centuries had 
so raised t ho level of the soil thai the area covered by the 
annual tlood had been much reduced, By raising the height 
of tln^ dam and regulating the outflow of the water, over 



THE SPREAD OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION 



23 



1,000, 000 acres of land have been reclaimed for cultivation. 
25. The Period of Hyksos Rule, 1800 1600 B. C. For 
about 200 years after her excellent administration under fche 
kings of the twelfth dynasty, Egypt fell under the rule of an 
Asiatic people, called the Hyksos. During these two cen- 
turies, until the Hyksos were driven out, there was little 
progress in Egypt. In the end, these years of subjection to 
a foreign race proved to be an excellent thing for the coun- 
try, for in I he wars which were fought with the Hyksos, the 
peace-loving Egyptians developed a more martial spirit. 
Their archers developed into skilled and dangerous marks- 
men, and I hey learned from the Hyksos the use of horses in 
war and in farm- 
ing. A Tier this 
time, the pha- 

raohs are shown 
on the walls of 
their tombs as 
fighting from 
chariots drawn 
by spirited 
horses. 

26. The Con- 
quest of Syria. 
— The greatest 

service of the 
Hyksos, h o w - 
ever, was to 

bring the coun- 
tries of Egypt 

and Syria into 

closer relation. Before this time Egypt had been a kingdom 
confined to the Nile valley. Now, as they drove back the 
Hyksos, the Egyptians were compelled to march into Pales- 
tine and Syria. The tendency to travel and trade beyond 
the bounds of Egypt which was already apparenl al the 
time of the Middle Kingdom, was greatly increased. By 
conquests along the Mediterranean Sea, the pharaohs of the 




J- x 



Extent of thh Egyptian Empire, L500 b. c. 



24 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ISIA 

eighteenth dynasty extended their sway over Palestine and 
Syria, as far north as the Euphrates river, and these lands 
were made to pay tribute to Egypt. 

Thus the Egyptian Empire was formed, with foreign lands 
under the pharaoh's domination. These years of conquest 
strengthened the power of the pharaohs at home, even 
beyond what it had been in the time of the Old Kingdom. 
The common people had no voice at all in the government, 
and the nobles, too, were entirely subservient to the mon- 
arch's will. Through the growth of the Empire, the civiliza- 
tion which Egypt had been so long developing was spread 
into western Asia, and foreign ideas were brought into the 
Nile valley to broaden and enrich Egyptian lite. 

27. Thothmes III. -The greatest of the conquerors was 
Thothmes III (about L500 to 1 lot) b. c.) He made seven- 
teen campaigns into Syria to punish the princes who re- 
belled, or to exact the tributes, when these were not promptly 
paid. Thothmes himself was a great warrior and an in- 
spiring leader, and is to be remembered as tin 4 founder of the 
first great empire in the history of the world. One of the 
inscriptions tells of his valor thus: 

The king himself led the way of his army, mighty at its head, 
like a flame of tire, the king who wrought with his sword. He 
went forth, none like him, slaying the barbarians, bringing their 
princes as living captives, their chariots wrought with gold 
bound to their horses. 

The cities o^ Palestine and Syria fell before his onslaughts. 
The ancient and powerful city of Babylon, far down upon 
the Euphrates, purchased his $ood will by sending presents 
of lapis lazuli. The chieftains of the island oi Cyprus sent 
him tribute. From the Palestine country the richest spoils 
were carried back to Egypt. The booty from the great city 
o( Megiddo included: 

340 living prisoners; '2.011 mares; 191 foals; 6 stallions; a 
chariot wrought with gold, its pole of gold, belonging to the 
chief o\' Megiddo; 892 chariots o\' his wretched army; a beautiful 
suit o( bronze armor, belonging to the chief of Megiddo; -00 



THE SPREAD OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION 25 

suits *A' armor belonging to the wretched army; 502 hows; 1,929 
large cattle; 2,000 sheep; 20,500 goats. 

28. Amenhotep III. -Under Amenhotep III, who ruled 
from Mil to L375 it. c, Egypt enjoyed the most bril- 
liant years in her history. Her foreign subjects had been 
beaten into submission by the previous kings, and all the 
civilized world of that time paid court to win the friendship 
of the great Pharaoh Amenhotep. Messengers and embas- 
sies passed buck and forth, with letters and gifts, between the 
Egyptian ruler and the kings of Cyprus, of the Hittites, of 
the Mitani, of Babylon, and of Assyria. For the first time 
we see the game of politics played between different nations, 
on a scale so large that we may speak of it as world polities. 

By conquest and by treaties, Amenhotep extended the 
power of Egypt so that it was felt along the Euphrates and 
Tigris rivers far down into Mesopotamia. In order to 
strengthen his power, he married a daughter of the king 
of the Mitani. The letters which give us this information 
were found in Egypt in L888, at Tell-el-Amarn.'i. They are 
not written in the Egyptian language, but in the wedge- 
shaped writing of (he Babylonians. This shows clearly that, 
though Kgypt was really the great ruling power of the 
day, the influence of Babylon was really much greater in Asia 
than that of Egypt, since the Babylonian language was em- 
ployed for the correspondence even of an Egyptian 
king. 

29. The Trade and Wealth of Egypt. -During the fifteenth 
and fourteenth centuries b. c, Egypt was the political 
and commercial center of the civilized world. From all the 
neighboring countries the booty taken in war, and the tri- 
bute paid in times of peace was shipped up the Nile. From 
Cyprus the subject king sent pure copper and lead in bars 
to be used in the manufacture of articles in Egypt. From 
distant Babylon came precious stones, especially lapis lazuli, 
and woods of many kinds. From the Hittites the tribute 
was chiefly in gold and silver. The spoils of Palestine in- 
cluded silver and gold vessels of rarest workmanship; chairs, 



26 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

couches, and tables of ebony or ivory inlaid with gold; ves- 
sels of bronze; and Btatues of ebony and silver. 

( )ue of the reliefs of Thothmos III shows two vessels being 
loaded with the products of Punt. The inscription with it 

reads: 

The loading of the ships heavily with marvels of the country 
of Punt. All goodly fragrant woods of God's-Land. Heaps 
of myrrh-resin with fresh myrrh trees, with ebony and pure 
ivory, with green gold, with cinnamon-wood, with incense and 
eye cosmetic, with apes, monkeys, dogs, and with skins of the 
southern panther, with natives and their children. Never was 




Ships ok Queen Batshepbet, Aunt of Thothmbs mi. 
It is being loaded al 1'unt wiili m\ 1 1 h-tnes, apes, and other products. 

brought the like of this for any king who has been since the 
beginning. 

These are products of inner Africa, Arabia, and possibly 
India, which came into Egypt by way of the Red Sea,. 

30. How the Pharaohs Used this Wealth.— With these 
immense resources the pharaohs began to beautify their 

capital, 'Thebes. They built magnificent temples, whose 
gigantic marble columns still stand in broken grandeur, 
at Luxor and karnak. The gates of the temples glittered 
with gold and silver, and the brighl colors used upon the 

stone heightened the gorgeous effect of the whole. The 

massive entrances were approached between rows- of rams, 
Sculptured in stone. TWO colossal statues of Amenhotep 

are still standing, the only remains of one of his great tem- 
ples. In memory of their victories, i he conquering pharaohs 



THE SPREAD <>!• EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION 



27 



Bet up tall shafts, called obelisks, cut from a single piece of 
stone, and often standing over a hundred feet in height. 1 

31. The Attempt at a Religious Reformation. A I the 
death of Amenhotep III, fche Egyptian empire was at the 
summit of its strength. He was followed l>y Amenhotep 
l\, (1375 L358 b. a), who called himself [khnaton. En 
him a dreamer came to the throne, a religious enthusiast 




■■ nam 

l.'ii; 01 i hi. ( 'ui.ohmai. Statii ■•. 01 A.MENHOTBP III KT THJBB] 

who believed in the might of One God, named A.ton. He 
tried to make this God the Supreme Deity of the Empire, 
as he believed liim to be the Supreme Lord of Creation. 
The following hymn was composed Ly [khnaton himself to 

honor the ( rod Alon: 

How manifold are all i hy works: 
They are hidden from before us, 

thou Sole god, whose powers no oilier possessetli. 

Thou didsl create the earth according to thy desire while 
thou wast alone. 

1 < )n<- of fche obelisks of Thol hmes ill is now standing in ( Jentral Park, 
New York City. 



28 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

It is the history of all peoples that in developing their re- 
ligious ideas they begin in primitive times with polytheism. 
Gradually, as they become more civilized, they move for- 
ward toward the idea of a single Divine Power. This move- 
ment had been going on slowly in Egypt. It is seen in the 
organization of the multitudinous deities into triads and 
enneads (groups of nine), and in the gradual ascendency of 
Ammon-Re. But the monotheistic teaching of Ikhnaton 
was far ahead of the development of his people, and therefore 
it gained no hold upon the mass of the Egyptians, and after 
Ikhnaton's death it was swept away in the reaction led by the 
strong priesthood of the old gods. Thereafter the Egyptian 
religion became set and unchangeable. It showed no signs 
of further development, and finally disappeared altogether, 
after the birth of Christ, waning before the greater truth of 
Christ's teachings. 

32. Rameses II Restores the Empire.— While Ikhnaton 
was occupied in forcing his religious ideas upon his people, 
the northern frontiers in Syria were broken through by the 
warlike Hittites. The subject princes in Palestine 4 revolted, 
and the foreign possessions of the empire seemed lost. 

At the end of this same century, however, the empire in 
Palestine and Syria was partially restored. From the time 
of Rameses II (1292-1225 b. a), the energetic and warlike 
pharaoh who accomplished this, we have copies, both in 
Egyptian and in the Babylonian tongue, of the treaty which 
he made with the Hittites, after years of fighting in Syria. 
It was engraved on a silver tablet, but only copies of it have 
survived. Extracts from it read: 

Copy of the silver tablet which the great chief of Khcta (the 
Hittite land) caused to be brought to Pharaoh, to crave peace 
from the majesty of Rameses II, the Bull of Rulers * * *. 
There shall be no hostilities between them, forever. The great 
chief of Kheta shall not pass over into the land of Egypt, for- 
ever, to take anything therefrom. Rameses, the great ruler of 
Egypt, shall not pass over into the land of Kheta, to take any- 
thing therefrom, forever. 



TIIH SPREAD OF EGYPTIAN CIVILIZATION 



29 



The treaty shows that the power of Egypt in Syria was 
not so great as it had been under Amenhotep and Thothmes. 
Far from sending tribute to the pharaoh, the Hittite chief- 
tain treats with Rameses on equal terms. The land of 
Syria was divided between these two powers, and Rameses 




T 4''V.W 



Rameses II in His Chariot of War 
The Pharaoh's lion goes into battle with him. 
From a relief in a temple. 

took the eldest daughter of the Hittite prince as one of his 
wives. 

33. The Decline of the Empire. — After the reign of Rame- 
ses II, a gradual decline can be traced in the power of 
Egypt. The pharaohs had given too much land and other 
wealth to the temples of the gods. These were all free from 
taxation, and brought no income to the government. Great 
sums of money were spent in the building of gorgeous tem- 
ples. Thus the whole religious system became a heavy eco- 
nomic burden upon the state; and this was one cause of the 
state's decline. 

In the time of Rameses III (about 1 198-1 1G7 b. c), the 
peoples of the northern Mediterranean and of the iEgean 
islands came down from the north. They broke the Hit- 
tite power, and were only driven back at the very Delta of 



30 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

the Nile itself. Egypt fell first under the sway of Libyan, 
later under that of Ethiopian rulers. During one period, 
from 660 to 525 b. c, she saw a revival of her old commerce 
and political freedom. Then the country fell under the 
sway of the Persian king ; Cambyses (525 b. a). Since that 
date, the patient Egyptians have always lived under foreign 
domination. 

By the year 1100 b. c, Egypt had done her great work 
for civilization. After that time she seemed incapable of 
further progress. Her artists only copied the work of earlier 
eras, seeing things always in the old way. Her religion 
remained set and unchanged. Yet she had given much in 
the three thousand years of her greatness, and must be 
studied along with Babylon, Greece, and Rome, as one of the 
four great nations of ancient' times whose past has most 
helped to make our own present. 

References for Outside Reading 

Breasted, Ancient Egyptians, ch. 16, 17, 18; Baikie, Story of the 
Pharaohs, ch. 7, 8, 9; Sayce, Ancient Empires of the East, pp. 36-49; 
Breasted, History of Egypt, ch. 16, 17, 18; Petrie, History of Egypt, Vol. 
I, ch. 7-10; Vol. II. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Thothmes III. — Baikie, ch. 7; Breasted, Ancient Egyptians, ch. 16. 

2. Palaces and Temples of Thebes. — Baikie, pp. 162-166; 
Breasted, Ancient Egyptians, pp. 255-262; Breasted, History of Egypt, 
pp. 337-350. 

3. Queen Hatshepset. — Baikie, pp. 107-117; Breasted, Ancient 
Egyptians, ch. 15. 

4. Neglect of the Empire in Syria by Amenhotep IV. — Baikie, 
ch. 9; Breasted, Ancient Egyptians, ch. 19. 

5. Excavation of an Egyptian Royal Tomb. — Century Magazine, 
Nov., 1905, article by N. C. Greene, "A Great Discovery in Egypt." 



CHAPTER III 
BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION 

34. The Scene. — At the head of the Persian Gulf lies 
a long stretch of fertile land which, like the Delta of Egypt, 
was built up by mud deposits brought down from the north- 
west by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. It is named Baby- 
lonia, after the city of Babylon, which in time became the 
greatest and most powerful in that fruitful region. The 
country to the northwest of this, lying between and along 
the Tigris and Euphrates, was called by the Greeks Mesopo- 
tamia, "Amid the Rivers." 

The archaeologists find in Babylonia the first indications 
of civilized life at a period quite as early as in Egypt itself. 
In both lands it was the extreme ease with which crops could 
be grown that explains why the step from barbarism to more 
enlightened ways of living was taken so much earlier than 
elsewhere. Quite independently, each of the other, the 
Babylonians and the Egyptians worked out those first hard 
problems of refined living which raised them to the plane 
of civilized nations. 

35. Sources of Our Information. — Until early in the nine- 
teenth century, nothing was known of the early history 
of the Babylonian land or of its people. Since then excava- 
tions have been made on the sites of its ancient cities, which 
have afforded us a little knowledge of this remote past, 
just as the deciphering of the hieroglyphs enabled us to learn 
Egyptian history. 

Babylonia has no stone and very little wood. The 
ancient inhabitants therefore were compelled to build their 
houses of brick. For the outer layers of their finest build- 
ings, such as palaces and temples, they used brick baked 
hard in a kiln, such as we employ; but the brick used in the 
4 31 



32 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 



inner part of the walls and in all the lesser buildings and 
houses were merely dried hard in the sun. Therefore their 
cities easily crumbled, and where they once stood huge 
mounds of earth now rise above the level stretch of the plain. 
The excavators who dig into these mounds are able to re- 
construct the plans of the great palaces. They have found 

many statues and re- 
i!Hi-Wr»L -^.1 lief-pictures which 
adorned the walls; 
but most important 
of all, they have dis- 
covered immense 
numbers of clay tab- 
lets covered with the 
peculiar characters of 
the Babylonian writ- 
ing. Originally their 
system was one of 
picture-writing, as in 
Egypt: but the pic- 
ture signs had gradu- 
alty changed until 
they became a series of wedge-shaped marks, each standing 
for a syllable. After the Latin word "cuneus," which 

cuneiform inscriptions. 




Ancient Babylonian Writing. 
The cuneiform writing is not fully developed. 



•S53 



4iT 



.2.* cH 4£T 



means "wedge," they are called 

T? JI OM T tte «f <« 

Babylonian Cuneiform Writing. 

It reads: "Hammurabi, king of Babylon, summoned his forces, and against Rim-Sin, 

king of Ur, he marched." 

They were cut into marble walls of palaces, upon tablets 
of bronze, or were pressed upon moist clay with a stylus. 
The clay was shaped into tablets about six inches long, or 
into cylinders. When these were baked to the hardness 



BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION 33 

of brick, the records upon them would, of course, last 
forever. 

The historian has therefore at his disposal the great royal 
inscriptions which recount the deeds of the ancient kings; 
and upon clay tablets and cylinders, the letters and business 
contracts of the people. 

36. The People.— Scholars tell us that the Babylonian 
language and civilization are Semitic in character. The 
original home of the Semites lay in Arabia. It is impossible 
to tell anything about the people who lived in Babylonia 
before the Semites from the Arabian desert began to over- 
run the valley. By the year 3500 b. c, the Semites were in 
full possession of the country, and had changed their wild 
desert habits for the settled agricultural life which had 
developed along the rivers. The continuous development 
of the people of western Asia was interrupted by two other 
great migrations of the Semites from Arabia. The second 
occurred from about 2400 to 2100 b. c, the third and last 
from 1500 to 1300 b. c. These Semitic waves served to make 
the life of the nations of western Asia essentially Semitic in 
its character. 

37. The City-Kingdoms.— The earliest inscriptions which 
we have fall between 4000 and 3000 b. c. Though few 
and scanty, these show that the land was not a single 
state, but was divided into little city-kingdoms. Among 
these were Ur, Uruk, Kish, and Agade. The kings of these 
city-states fought with each other for supremacy; and those 
who were conquered became princes subordinate to the 
victor. Thus the city-states gradually became organized 
into larger kingdoms. 

The most important of these was Agade. Sargon I 1 
ruled here about 2800 b. c, and brought a great stretch 
of country, including Babylonia and Upper Mesopotamia, 
under his control. His conquests probably took him 
as far west as the Mediterranean Sea, as the follow- 

1 His life-time is placed by some authorities at 3800 B. C. But the 
Babylonian king Nabunaid (555 B.C.), who set his date so early, 
seems to have made a great miscalculation. 



34 CIVILIZATION (>!'' EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 



ing quotation from a Babylonian chronicle would indi- 
cate: 

Over the countries <>f the sea of the setting sun he passed 
[probably the Mediterranean], and for three years at thesetting 

sun .-ill lands liis hands subdued. 

Although his conquests were not formed into a permanent 
and enduring state, they served to spread the Babylonian 
tongue and knowledge oxer western Asm into Syria. Later 
kings remembered the glory of Sargon's conquests, and si rove 
i o imitate him. 

38. Babylon Becomes the Ruling City. When the second 
incursion of Semitic nomads swept over the Euphrates 
and Tigris valleys, the new tribes conquered the country, 
learned to live the life of the people of the river-valley, and 
adopted their civilization. They made the city of Babylon, 
on the Euphrates river, the center of their power. The 

princes of the oilier 

cities became their vas- 
sals. For over I wo thous- 
and years therea ft er 
Babylon remained the 
mosl influential city of 
western Asia, even when 

it fell under (he subjec- 
tion of rulers from other 
cities. 

39. King Hammurabi 
(1958-1916 B. C). Of 
the kings of that dynasty 
which built up the fame 
of Babylon, Hammurabi 

is besl known to us. In I DO I a tablet o\' stone, eight 
feet high, was found at Susa, which contained a copy of 

the code of laws set up by him to guide his people. It 
shows that he was a warlike king who brought tin 1 whole 
of Babylonia under his hand. "The king, who is pre- 
eminent among city-kings, am I." lie tried to look after 







'I Mil I 1 




Babylonian Kingdom of Hammurabi, 



BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION 



35 



the welfare of his people by building canals, one of which 
connected the Tigris and Euphrates. Concerning these, 
his inscription says: 

When the gods Arm and Bel gave me Uie land of Babylon to 
rule, * * * E dug out the Hammurabi canal, which bringeth 
abundance of water unto the land. 

The words of the king himself show that he had .'t high 
conception of the duties of a ruler. He expresses the hope 
that his people will say of him: 

Hammurabi indeed is u ruler who is like a real father to his 
people. He has established prosperity for the people for all 
time, and given a pure government to the Land. 

40. Code of Hammurabi. The law code of Hammurabi 
contains about 280 different 
sections, dealing with .-ill 
manner of questions which 
might come up in i he adminis- 
tration of justice in his land. 
Though many of these seem 
strange from I he standpoint 
of our modern law, they 
nevertheless show that ideas 
of justice were, even at 1 hat 
early day, clearly defined and 

expressed. 

The following law fixes i he 
punishment for bribery: 

If a man bear wi1 Qesa in a 
ca e, for grain or money, he 
. hall himself bear I he penalty 

imposed in thai case. Froma tone lab found neai 

The reward for the return of a fugitive slave was fixed: 
If ;i man seize ;i male or female lave, a fugitive, in 'he field, 

and hrin^ that slave back to his owner, the owner shall pay him 

two shekels of silver. 




IIammikaisj lO.fl.l VI '. HI I. ■■.:. . nOM 

I II I ' '.Ml, 



30 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

Breaking into the mud-brick houses is punished with 
death: 

[f a man make a breach in :i house, they shall put him to 
death in front of that breach, and they shall thrust him 
i herein. 

The old Semitic law of "an eye for an eye and a tooth for 
a tooth/' appears here long before In* same idea was ex- 
pressed by the Hebrews in their Mosaic Law: 

[f a man destroy the eye of another man, they shall destroy 

his eye. [f one break a man's bone, they shall break his hone 
If a man knock out a tooth of a man of his own rank, they shall 
knock out his tooth. 

41. System of Farming. — Most of the land of Babylon 
was owned by the kings or rich nobles, or belonged to the 
tomples of the gods and their priests. It was let out in 
small tracts to tenants, who paid one-half or a third of the 
produce as rent. On such terms the peasants could not 
have made more than a bare living. Although slaves were 

used in tilling the soil, most, of the tenants were freemen. 
Among the poor, in a season of bad crops, the father of a 
family was often forced to sell his wife, son, or daughter into 
slavery to pay his debts; but the laws of Hammurabi pro- 
vided that they should only serve as slaves for three years, 
and then become \H'v. 

From the earliest, historic times, Babylonia was inter- 
sected by canals, using a system of irrigation made necessary 
by the lack of rainfall. The laws required the tenant to 
pay strict, attention to his irrigating ditches, so that the 
crops in the adjacent, fields might not be flooded. 

42. Industry and Trade of the Babylonians. -There was 
plenty of work in the busy Babylonian cities to occupy the 
people. The making of bricks must have been a very 
important industry, since there was no other material with 
which to build. Many were engaged in the weaving of 
rugs and cloth, and workers in leather and metals are men- 
tioned in the inscriptions. The laborers made contracts 



BABYLONIAN civilization 37 

with their employers, receiving their food, and from four 
to six shekels 1 a year, in pay. 

The articles of trade which passed out of Babylon, up 
and down the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, or by caravan 
across the deserts, wen- various. First, came the products 
raised in the country, the grains, dates, and sesame-oil. 
In addition, Babylon exported the products of her in- 
dustries, woollen and linen garments embroidered in colors, 
and cut stones, especially the blue lapis lazuli, which the 
Egyptians prized highly. The merchants who handled 
this trade were chiefly Babylonians. 

Among the imports into Babylonia, in the period down 
to Hammurabi, were the following: teak-wood from India, 
cedar from the Syrian mountains, metals and stone from 
the mountain districts of Persia, spices from Arabia, and 
gold from Egypt. The extent of this trade was from India, 
or possibly China, in the east, to the Mediterranean Sea 
in the west, and Egypt in the south. 

43. Old Babylonian Life.— The old Babylonian cities were 
surrounded by tall, heavily built walls. As the traders 
passed in arid out of the gates with their wares, they paid 
a tax at the custom-house situated there. This went to 
the king to pay the expenses of his court and government. 
On entering the city, traders and other travelers passed 
through narrow and dirty streets between rows of low 
houses built of mud-brick, with flat roofs made of mud 
mixed with reeds. 

The Babylonians drank both beer and wine, and there 
were many wine-shops along the streets to tempt the thirsty 
passers-by. But the laws of Hammurabi protected these 
from being cheated by the owners of the shops. One of the 
duties of the wine-sellers was to keep bad characters away, 
as is shown by this decree of Hammurabi's Code: 

If outlaws colled in the house of a wine-seller, and he do not 

1 The shekel in a weight of silver which contains about as much 
silver as thirty-five cents in our money. Its actual value, that is, the 
amount it would purchase, it is hard to estimate; hut it was certainly 
far higher than the amount indicated by our own money value. 



38 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

arrest these outlaws and bring them to the palace, that wine- 
seller shall be put to death. 

44. Babylonian Temples and Palaces. — There were no 
hills in the Babylonian plain. The royal palaces were made 
prominent by being built upon brick platforms, which rose 
to a height of forty or forty-five feet above the plain. These 
palaces had very thick and heavy walls, and were but one 




Restoration of a Palace of an Assyrian King with Platform Temple. 
It is built on the old Babylonian plan. 

story high. The rooms were small and dark, since the walls 
were not pierced by windows, and but a little light came 
from the great open courts about which the rooms were 
arranged. 

On the same platform as the palace, or upon one similar 
in construction, stood the Babylonian temple. It had the 
peculiar shape of a series of brick platforms, resting one 
upon the other, each story being smaller than the one below 
it. The platforms numbered from three to seven, and were 
covered with enameled bricks, each story in a different 
color. One of the temples at Babylon is supposed to have 
been about 250 feet high. 



BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION 39 

45. The Religion. — Just as in Egypt, the temples in differ- 
ent localities were devoted to the worship of different 
gods — that is, the religion was polytheistic — and the im- 
portance of the worship of each god usually depended upon 
the political importance of his particular city-state. As 
in Egypt, too, the religion became organized as the country 
itself became unified. 

To the Babylonians, the powers of the gods expressed 
themselves in the activities of nature, in earthquakes and 
in storms, in the movements of the sun, the moon, and the 
stars. Consequently the priests of old Babylonia were 
greatly interested in the study we call astronomy. This 
led them to mark off the year into months and weeks. 
Indeed, our whole system of noting time is derived from 
them, through the Romans. The Babylonians were the 
first to divide the day into twelve hours, and therefore the 
divisions on the dials of our watches are really inherited 
from them. 

46. Babylonian Mythology. — The Babylonians had a liter- 
ature connected chiefly with their religion, consisting of 
hymns and stories of their gods and heroes. The best 
known of these is the epic of the hero, Gilgamesh, whose 
deeds are told in twelve books. In one of these occurs 
the story of the flood which was sent by the gods upon the 
earth. It tells how one man, a favorite of the gods, built 
an ark and thereby saved himself and his family and wild 
and tame beasts of the field. 

The whole epic of Gilgamesh is so like the story of the 
Greek hero, Hercules, that some authorities declare that the 
Greeks became acquainted with this Babylonian myth, 
when their own mythology was forming, and shaped their 
legend according to that of the Babylonians. The literature 
of the Hebrews, in the Old Testament, was also influenced 
by a knowledge of the Babylonian stories of the creation 
and of the flood. 

47. Extent of the Babylonian Influence.— Future exca- 
vations in the Babylonian country will add greatly to our 
present knowledge of its history. It is not yet possible to tell 



40 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

just how Babylonian civilization spread over western Asia. 
The Tcll-el-Amarna letters indicate that not only the tongue 
of Babylonia, but also its life and ideas, were firmly rooted in 
Syria and Palestine in the period of Thothmes III, when 
Egypt first began her expansion to the north. 

By the year 1500 b. c, the civilization of western Asia 
was well grounded. The Babylonians had used their system 
of writing for several thousand years, and thei language 
had grown to be the one best known in the lands of western 
Asia. The city-states had become consolidated into larger 
units, still but loosely bound together. In architecture, the 
Babylonians knew the use of the arch, and how to use their 
clay-brick to the best advantage. 

Their chief contribution to the progress of peoples, how- 
ever, must be found in their legal and business ability. 
The law code of Hammurabi had much to do with shaping 
the ideas of justice among the other peoples of the East, 
especially among the Hebrews. The laws relating to busi- 
ness contracts show that Babylonian commerce was well 
regulated, and upon an orderly business basis. Babylonian 
merchants monopolized the carrying of goods from the 
regions east of them, as far as India, to the Mediterranean 
Sea and to Egypt. 

References for Outside Reading 

Goodspced, History of the B ibylonians and Assyrians, pp. 1-13, 
25-36, 71-117; Sayce, Babylonians and Assyrians, ch. 1, pp. 44-62, ch. 
5; Budge, Babylonian Life and History, ch. S, 10; Sayce, Social Life 
among the Assyrians and Babylonians; Winckler, History of Babylonia 
and Assyria, ch. 14; Maspero, Dawn of Civilization, pp. 732-60; Sayce, 
Ancient Empires of the East, pp. 90-118, 146-178. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Irrigation in Babylonia. — Winckler, pp. 135-9. 

2. Babylonian Letter- W kiting. — Sayce, Babylonians and Assyri- 
ans, ch. 10; Budge, pp. 104-8; Maspero, pp. 723-32. 

3. Epic of Gilgamesh. — Maspero, pp. 564-89. 

4. The Tell-el-Amarna Letters. — Tiele, Western Asia; Nie- 



BABYLONIAN CIVILIZATION 41 

buhr, The T ell-el- Amarna Period ("Ancient East" series); see Index, 
"TeU-el-Amarna," in the histories of Egypt by Breasted and Baikie. 

5. UsesofClay i\ Babylonia. -Sayce, Babylonians and Assyrians, 
pj). DO 93, L37 L39, 208-213. 

(i. Education' in Babylonia. — Sayce, Social Life Among the 
Assyrians and Babylonians, ch. 3. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE PEOPLES WHO SPREAD THE CIVILIZATION OF 

THE EAST 

48. Hittites and Cretans. — In their earlier historic periods, 
down to 1500 b. c, both the Egyptians and Babylonians 
had gone their own way, with only such contact and chance 
to learn from one another as their external trade gave them. 
Apart from them, two other peoples made themselves so 
powerful in the world of the eastern Mediterranean that 
we must study them briefly, and learn what place to give 
them in the growth of the ancient world. These peoples are: 

1. The race called the Kheta by the Egyptians, or Hittites in 
the Old Testament ; 

2. A people who lived in the islands of the J'^ean Sea, 
whose ancient name we do not know. They arc variously 
called Cretans, Minoans, or Mycenceans by our modern scholars. 

49. Present Lack of Knowledge About the Hittites.— 

Remains of the Hittite civilization have been found from 
Smyrna in the west, eastward into Mesopotamia, and south- 
ward into Syria. The chief center when 4 their inscriptions 
are now found is between the Halys and Euphrates rivers, 
in the central portion of Asia Minor, which was evidently 
the real home of the Hittite tribes. 

No one has as yet succeeded in finding out the meaning 
of the many Hittite inscriptions found in this region. Thor- 
ough knowledge of the growth of the Hittite civilization is, 
therefore, not to be gained at present, but must wait until 
some scholar learns to read their language, and until fur- 
ther excavations have been made on the sites of their ancient 
cities. 

50. Political Importance of the Hittites.— It is not pos- 
sible to say with what ancient peoples the Hittites are akin. 



THE CIVILIZATION OF THE EASl 43 

About 2000 b. a, they passed out from central Asia Minor 
into Mesopotamia and into Syria, conquering the native 
princes there. The treaty of the silver tablet made between 
Rameses II and Khetasar, prince of the Hittites (see $ 32), 
makes evidenl their political importance in the time of the 
Egyptian Empire. This was an offensive and defensive 
alliance; that is, each power was hound to give active help 
to the other in case of need. The monarchs of Hie Egyptian 
Empire thereby recognized the Hittites as a people of equal 
standing and power with themselves. 

61. The Hittite Civilization. The sculpture of the Hit- 
tites is done in low relief upon stone 
slabs. The figures seem crude and V ( 
stiff when compared with the work jJJ 
done by the Egyptians and Babylon- (>' 
iansof t lie same period. Their earlier f 
works, however, show a strength rt 
which was not gained by imitation - 
of Babylonian models; but from about V 

1200 B. C. they seem more dependent 

upon Babylonian and Assyrian artists. 
The Hittites had progressed far 
enough to have a written language , ,, 

; ° ° A JliiiiJJ. WaBBIOB. 

Of their own, and an independent , „ m/ ., ,,„,,„„ ,„, 

skill in sculpture and in building. 
They are to be reckoned as one of the peoples through 
whom the civilization of Egypt and Babylon passed over to 
Europe by way of Asia Minor. They came into contact 
u it h i he ( Yet an civilizal ion of t he ^Egean islands, and 1 hrough 
the Cretans passed on to the later Greeks some of those 
things which the Easl had learned. In spite of our in- 
ability to read their inscriptions, recent excavations have 
made it evident that their influence in shaping ancient 
civilization and spreading it westward was very great. 

52. Cretan Civilization. -Excavations carried on during 
the past forty years at various places in the peninsula of 
Greece, upon the site of ancient Troy in norl hem Asia Minor, 
and on the ^Egean islands, especially Crete, have brought to 




44 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

Lighl a civilization in many ways as refined as that of the 
Egyptians and Babylonians. In Crete the development of 
this life has been traced back in unbroken line beyond 1000 
B. c, to a time when bronze weapons were unknown and 
the Cretans were still in the Stone-Age phase of civilization. 




• "'Cretan Remains 
Hittitc Remains 

SCALE OF MILES 



"> 400 000 



\i,i is in Which Hittite and Mtchnjban-Crbtan Remains Are Found. 

Crete, therefore, must be regarded as the cradle and center 
of this life, and the term "Cretan Civilization" is the one 
we may besi employ to designate it. The time of its greatest 
development extends from IWOO to 1000 li. C. 

53. The Story of King Minos. r l 'lie Hellenic, or Greek, 
people who later came to rule the Greek peninsula, the 
#Cgean islands, and a large part of the Mediterranean coast, 
retained in their traditions a number of stories of the power 
of Minos, an ancient king of Cnossus in Crete. In one of 
their myths they told how Minos had prayed to Poseidon, 
the Greek xod o{ the ocean, to send him a bull from the sea, 
which he promised to offer up as a sacrifice to Poseidon. 
When the bull appeared in answer to his prayer, he was so 
amazed at its beauty that he refused to kill it. For this 



THE CIVILIZATION OF Til 10 UAKT 



45 




Ceetan Seal Repbb 

i i .<. -i in. 

Ml Mil Alll. 



defiance of the god, a curse was sent upon him in the form 
of the Minotaur (Minos-bull), a monster half-man and half- 
bull. This terrible scourge was kept l>y the king in the 
Labyrinth, a building with a maze of winding passages so 
intricate that one who entered could not find his way out. 
There the bull lived, feeding upon human 
flesh. The people of the Greek city of 

Athens were subject to Minos, and were 

forced to send each year a tribute of seven 
boys and seven girls to satisfy the Minotaur. 
This continued until Theseus, one of the 

heroes of ( Ireck mythology, went, us one of 

the victims. The Cretan princess Ariadne, 

who loved him, gave him, when he entered 

the Labyrinth, a sword and a long thread. 
With the sword Theseus killed the Mino- 
taur, and following the thread backward through the maze 
of halls, he came out in safety. 

54. Recent Excavations in Crete. Historians long thought 
that this was a legend without the slightest historical foun- 
dation. Excavations begun in L899 at Cnossus, however, 
have shown that the legend is based upon two historic 
truths; namely, 1 that there were powerful kings in Crete in 
early days, and that the Greeks knew them through the 
conned ions of war and I rade. 

Cnossus was found to be the center of a civilization which 
could vie with the old Egyptian in refinement of living, and 
even surpass it in some forms of its expression. The palace 
of the king was a great structure, covering a space about 400 
feet square and displaying great skill in building and in the 
art, of decoration. The ruins of other palaces, almost as 
large and quite as fine in construction, have been excavated 
in other parts of the island. 

55. The Excavations of Schliemann. — About thirty years 
before the time when the discoveries were made at Cnossus, 
excavations made in Asia Minor and in Greece by 1 he famous 
German scholar, Henry Schliemann, had furnished most im- 
portant evidences of a life very similar to that, discovered 



46 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 




Lion Gate and Entrance to the Palace at 
Mycen.e. 



later in Crete. At Mycenae, in the Peloponnesus, Schlie- 
mann laid bare the foundations of a large palace, the entrance 
to which was through a long passage between heavy stone 
walls. Thus an attacking enemy would be forced to endure 
a fire of arrows from two sides before he could reach the 

gates. The gateway 
itself as it stands to- 
day gives an idea 
of the remarkable 
strength of this old 
palace. The stone 
which forms its top 
is 15 feet long, and 
about 7 feet thick; 
above this are the 
famous Lions, which 
guard the entrance. 
They are sculptured 
on a triangular piece 
of limestone, com- 
paratively thin, set into the heavier stones of the wall. 
Architecturally, this is designed to lighten the weight upon 
the massive stones of the gate. 

In a number of covered graves located just inside the 
gateway, Schliemann found nineteen bodies of the royal 
dead of old Mycenae, with gold ornaments, richly jewelled 
diadems, and other articles of value buried beside them. 
Because of the importance of his discoveries at Mycenae, 
Schliemann called this civilization "Mycenaean"; and this 
name is still used to distinguish the type of the Cretan cul- 
ture found upon the mainland of Greece from that of its 
original home in Crete. 

56. Character of the Cretan-Mycenaean Civilization.— The 
excavations in Crete have brought to light many examples of 
a Cretan form of writing, which no one has as yet been able 
to read. We must depend, therefore, upon the "monu- 
mental" evidence for a description of the life of this people. 
The immense size of the palaces, especially those in Crete, 



THE CIVILIZATION OF THE EAST 



47 







i 

n 

Cretan Work in Fine Porcelain. 



Wild goat and its young. 



conclusively proves that the governments were strong mon- 
archies. At Mycenae, gold and silver cups of beautiful work- 
manship were found in the graves. Beside the dead bodies 
of the Mycenaean princes lay gold face-masks which seemed 
to attempt a likeness of the dead. A great number of plates 
of thin gold with charming designs of conventionalized plants 
and butterflies beaten in were found. These were used as 
decorations on the garments of 
the royal persons in the graves. 
The old Greek poets who wrote 
the Iliad were right in calling 
the place " golden Mycenae. " 

All of these remains at Mycenae 
speak of a luxury and refine- 
ment which is even more clearly 
shown in the great palaces of 
Crete. In the palace at Cnossus, 

on the lower floor, a long, wide corridor was uncovered. 
Leading off from it were eighteen smaller corridors, the store- 
rooms for grain and wine which were placed in great jars 
sometimes five feet in height. Small, secret treasure-chests 
were sunk into the stone floors, but these had long ago been 
robbed of their contents. 

The great throne-room of the king of Cnossus, where his 
court of justice met, would hold several hundred of his sub- 
jects. The palace was supplied with a bath- 
ing room ; and remains of a system of drain- 
age pipes of tile show that the Cretans had 
some idea of sanitary arrangements, at least 
for the palaces. 

57. Cretan-Mycenaean Art. — The artistic 

skill of the old Cretan people is shown in 

the many vases which have been excavated 

at various places, in wall-paintings from the 

palace at Cnossus, in the gold and silver 

ornaments of Mycenae, and in porcelain ware, as delicate as 

the finest porcelain manufactured to-day. The colors used on 

their painted vases were soft, and the designs highly artistic. 




Painted Cretan 
Vase. 



IS CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 




YlU'NU Chktan CJiul. 

From a wall-painting in the 

palace at 1 InOSSUS. 



Ii cannol be denied that the Cretans Learned much from 
the older civilization of Babylonia and of the Nile valley, yet 

whatever they borrowed they always made over and gave to 

it a touch o( individuality. Thua 
their civilization is quite distinct from 
its forerunners. This individuality is 
best seen in the freedom of design 

in their wall-paintings and vase- 
paintings, and in the absolute lack 
of that conventionality which very 
early appeared in the art of Baby- 
lonia and Egypt. The walls of certain 
halls in the palace at Cnossus were 
decorated with pictures of bulls, 
drawn with life-like vigor. Other wall- 
paintings showed bull-fights with 
torreadors Leaping over the backs of 

the maddened bulls as they charged. 

58. The Trade Relations of the Cretans. In very early 

times, the people of Crete began to trade with the other 

isla ads o{ t be 

ASgeanSea. Even 

in the time o'i the 4 
Old Kingdom o^ 
Egypt, trade ex- 
isted bet ween 
i Jrete and the Nile 
valley. Cretan 
pot tery o{ t his 
earlytime is found 
in Egypt , and 
stone bowls of 

Egyptian manu- 
facture are found 

in Crete. In the time of the Egyptian Empire (1600 1150 
B. c.)j the relations between the two countries were most 
friendly, and the trade very active. 

In consequence of this trading, the Cretans accepted much 



"V>- 




. ,v;;-^vvffl 




■ 

( 'i;r i w Y vsr or 11 \i;n StONI . 

en-tan soltli.T reoeiving orders from an officer, 



THE CIVILIZATION OF THE EAST 49 

of the culture of the Egyptians, more, perhaps, than from 
that of the Hittites and Babylonians. Their trade over sea 
extended until it reached the renter of Europe by way of 
the Ester (Danube) and the rivers of Russia which empty 
into the Pontus (Black Sea). From these regions they re- 
ceived copper, (in and iron, hides and wool. 

59. Influence on Greece. The Mycenaean type of this 
civilization which we hud in Greece differs somewhat from 
that in Crete. For example, the palaces at Mycenae and 
Tiryns are strongly fortified. Those in Crete are not. [t 
seems probable, therefore, that the people of Cretan civiliza- 
tion in (Jreeec were thrown with I he Hellene:; (Greeks), :t 

ruder people, racially different from themselves, and that 
the result was a mixed civilization. 

The Cretan influence on the Hellenes is most clearly seen 
in (heir- religion; for the earliest myths in the Greek religion 
are connected with Crete. There, as the Hellenes thoughtj 
the greatest of i heir gods, Zeus, was horn. The < Jretan king, 
Minos, became ;i half-god to the Greeks, and judge of the 
dead in Hades. 

60. Decay of the Mycenaean-Cretan Power. The Myce- 
naean and ( Jretan people were most active and powerful from 
about 2000 to L500 b. c. Then came a gradual decay. The 
causes of this decline are probably connected with the ad- 
vance of the Hellenic tribes. New bands of these uncivilized 
hut warlike tribes pushed down from the north into Greece. 
They defeated the rulers of the Mycenaean civilization at 
Mycenae and Tiryns, and (turned their palaces. Some of the 
Hellenes pushed on into Crete, and there the Cretans fell 
before i hem. Gradually the entire standard of life was 
changed and lowered by the influence of the uncivilized Greek 
warriors; but out of the Oriental-iEgean culture of the 
Cretans grew finally that wonderful civilization of ancient 
Greece which gave so much to the world. 

References for On I side Heading 

The Hittites. The most authoritative reference for (Ik- Hittites 
is the small pamphlet by Messerschmidt, The Hittites, in the "Ancient 

5 



50 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

East" series. See also Sayce, The Hittites, and Garstang, Land of the 
Hittites. 

The Minoans: Baikie, The Sea Kings of Crete; Hawes and Hawes, 
Crete, the Forerunner of Greece; Tsoimtas and Manatt, The Mycencean Age, 
pp. 83-105, ch. 7; Mosso, The Palaces of Crete, ch.5,6, 13, 17; Schuchardt, 
Schliemann's Excavations, pp. 176-274. Tsountas' and Manatt's and 
Schuchardt's works are to be used by the pupil merely to gain an idea, 
through the illustrations, of the artistic side of the Cretan-Mycenaean 
civilization. If the journals are available, read the short accounts of 
the excavations in Crete in the Scientific American Supplement, 1907 
(vol. 64), pp. 34-5, and in Classical Journal, Feb. 1908. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Schliemann. — See the Encyclopedias and the introduction to 
Schuchardt, Schliemann's Excavations. 

2. Bull-baiting in Cretan Times. — Mosso, ch. 11. 

3. The Vaphio Cups.— Tsountas and Manatt, p. 7, pp. 226-28. 

4. Dr. Evans and the Palace at Cnossus. — Baikie, ch. 4, 5; 
Hawes and Hawes, ch. 4, 5. 

5. Hittite Art.— Sayce, The Hittites, ch 6; Messerschmidt, pp. 
50-56. (Study the illustrations). 

6. Trade of the Hittites. — Sayce, The Hittites, ch. 8. 

7. Hittite Manner of Dress. — Messerschmidt, pp. 33-36. 



1 • I I I I 



VJ I I OUI 1 uuu 



Washington, D. C. 



CHAPTER V 

THE PHCENICIAN8 AND HEBREWS.— THE GROWTH OF 
TRADE WITH THE WEST 

61. The Land of Phoenicia.— The strip of land lying- along 
the coast of the eastern Mediterranean, stretching from 

Egypt to the 
westward bend 
of Asia Minor, 
was early settled 
by Semitic peo- 
ples. A few miles 
back from the 
coast rise the 
Lebanon moun- 
tains. This nar- 
row strip the 
Greeks called 
" Phoenicia, " 
which means the 
' Land of Pur- 
ple"; for in the 
waters along the 
coast the inhab- 
itants fished for 
a kind of shell- 
fish, that fur- 
nished them with 
a fine purpled 
This dye 
used in coloring 
cloths, and it was through the trade in these goods that the 
early Greeks came to know the Phoenicians. 

The history of this strip of country is determined by its 

51 




icia.v Fleet of • 

rian relief. 



52 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AM) WESTERN ASIA 

geographical position. Lying directly on the route between 
the two great powers, Egypt and Babylonia, its cities served 
as exchange ports for the trade between them. In the ex- 
|):insioii of either of these powers, the Phoenician towns, 
which remained independent of each oilier, ruled each by its 
own kings, were often the hone of contention. They could, 
therefore, be independently powerful only in the periods 
when the two greater powers were politically weak. 

Their position made them also the natural ports of < >N :- 
change for the products of the East which went by sea to 
the West. The wares of the East came by caravan from 
Babylon and the other cities along the lower Tigris and 
Euphrates. The Phoenician cities furnished the nearest 
outlet to t he sea. Since the chances of attaining any political 
power were small, their inhabitants contented themselves 
with the position of merchants and carriers of trade, and 
furnished the fleets for the great rulers of the inland empires, 
such as Babylonia, and later, Assyria and Persia. 

62. Semitic Colonies in the West. — Of the Phoenician 
merchant towns, Sidon and Tyre are the two most worth 
remembering. Before 1200 b. c. historical records say little 
about them, and we conclude that they were as yet unim- 
portant. The merchants who then ruled the eastern Medi- 
terranean were the Cretans. About 1100 b. c, there came 
a great decline in the power of the Cretans, and of the 
Hittites, Egyptians, and Babylonians as well. This gave 
the merchant cities of Phoenicia an opportunity to develop. 
They occupied a part of Cyprus, and from there began to 
take over the trad* 1 with the /Egeai) islands and with the 
Hellenes on tin 1 peninsula of Greece. 

It is impossible to know how and when the Semitic col- 
onies were planted in the western Mediterranean, yet when 
the first information reaches us about this part of the world, 
the coast line is already fringed with colonies of Semitic 
origin. All the coast of northern Africa, the southern coast 
of Spain as far west as Gades, the Balearic islands, Sardinia, 
and the northwestern coast of Sicily are lined with cities 
which claim Phoenician towns as their mother-country. 



THE PHCENICIANS ANI> BEBREWS 63 

It is bard to believe that the few small cities of Phoenicia 
could have had enough population to colonize on so large a 
scale. They might, however, have furnished the leaders of 
the colonies and the important merchant-class, and have 
drawn (lie remaining settlers from Palestine and Syria. 

63. The Phoenician Trade with the West. Whatever the 
actual relations between them may have been, it is quite, 
true that these Semitic cities and trading-posts of the West 
received on the ships of Tyre and Sidon the products of the 

East. Among these exports were cloths from the looms of 

the East, dyed at Sidon or Tyre, glassware, and pottery. 
These the western cities offered in exchange to the bar- 
barous tribes around them for the products of the West. 
For example, they obtained tin from Britain, and lead and 

silver from the mines of Spain. 

The Old Testament gives us an admirable picture of the 
exchange of the markets of Tyre. 

2. And say unto Tyrus, "0 thou that art situate at <li': 
entry of the sea, which ar1 a merchant of the people for 
many isles. Thus earth the Lord God; O Tyrus, thou hast 
said, I am of perfect beauty. 

12. Tarshish [Spain] was thy merchant by reason of the 
multitude of all kind of riches; with silver, iron, tin, and 
lead, they I raded in i hy fairs. 

16. Syria was thy merchant by reason of the multitude of 
the wares of thy making; they occupied in thy fairs with 
emeralds, purple, and broidered work, and fine linen, and 
coral, and agate. 

24. These were thy merchants in .-ill sorts of things, in blue 
clothes, and broidered work, and in chests of rich apparel, 
bound with cords, and made of cedar, among thy mer- 
chandise. (Ezekiel, XXVII.) 

64. Influence of the Phoenicians. It was through the 
Phoenicians, after the decline of the Cretan culture, that 
the Greeks kept in touch with the knowledge and skill of 
the Babylonians and Egyptians. The Greeks, therefore, 
regarded the Phoenicians as the inventors of writing and of 



f,| CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 




the manufacture of glass, as the orst people bo work the 
metals into artistic ornaments and utensils, and as the 
originators of the system of measures and weights which 
they used. In this the Greeks were wrong, 
for the Phoenicians had learned these 
things from the Babylonians. Their 
genius lay in taking the ideas of others 
and adapting them for use in their 
trade; but they were in no sense inventors. 
Their art distinctly shows that they 
c o p i <* d 

Engraved Phcbnician Egyptian 

and Bab- 

The Egyptian sym- 
bols, the winged lun- y lo U i :i n , 
di i tcred beetle, an. I " , , . 
hawk headed gods, all AUi[ {AU r * 
.show the Egyptian in- ( 5 p e e K 

,, " , " , •"• models. 

The importance of the 
Phoenician towns lies in the 
fact that they were the 

pioneers who headed the 
Semitic movement whieh 

brought the western Mediter- 
ranean into contact with the 
ri.-h life of the East. They 

educated Hie undeveloped 
peoples of the West, as far 
as Spain, in the manual skill 
of the civilized East. The 

influence of the Semitic colo- 
nization of the West was not 

otherwise important. Thecol- 

onies, with the single excep- 
tion of the greal City of Car- From an Assyrian relief, time of Sennaoherib, 
thage, never united into powerful states which could 
influence the less civilized tribes around them. Planted 
primarily for trading purposes, they disappeared as 
the western tribes developed, and left but little 
(race of their stay in the life of western Europe. 




Hbbbbw Wombn \m> Child of tin-, 
ps \nant cka8s. 



THE PHOENICIANS AND HEBREWS 



55 



65. History of the Hebrews. Much more importanl than 
the Phoenicians in the history of the ancient world are the 
Semitic tribes called the Hebrews. During the last great 
wave of Semitic migration they settled in Palestine, about 
lir>o b. c, when the Hittite power was broken, and the 
Egyptians had lost their hold upon Syria. Politically, 
the Hebrews never became a great power. But in the field 
of religion their importance is greater than that of any other 
people with whom we shall deal, lor they early developed 
the idea that there is but one God (monotheism), and re- 
tained that belief against the polytheistic teachings of all 
the peoples round about them. 

66. Moses and the Covenant with God. The history of 
the Hebrews is the history of their religion. They believed 
that, in the lime of their wanderings before they sell led in 
Palestine, God hud appeared to Moses, their leader, upon 
Mount Sinai, and had 



through him made a cove- 

n;iiil with t he t ribe of Israel. 

Jehovah was to be I he ( rod 
of [srael, and Israel was to 
he the chosen people of 
Jehovah. The people of 

Israel were to follow the 

commands of God, which 

he declared to Moses, and 
their lives were to he guided 
by the Ten Commandments 
which formed the basis of 
the covenant made with 
Moses. 

67. The Formation of the 
Kingdom of Israel. When 
first they settled in Palestine, 
the Hebrews were not a nation, hut only a number of 

related tribes which did not fight or act in unity. As 

they moved in, tribe by tribe, they gradually conquered 
and absorbed the Canaanites, who occupied the country 

before them. But, becauseof l.'iek of union, they fell under 




'■-■ 



Mai- oi A-.- n.-.i Pale m i ■ ).. 



56 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

the yoke of the Philistines, who lived along the sea-coast 
of lower Palestine. From the bondage of the Philistines 
they were released by the warrior Saul, of the tribe of 
Benjamin. 

The Old Testament is our only source of knowledge for the 
early history of the Hebrews. It tells the story of the siege 
of Jabesh by the Philistines, and how the elders of the city 
sent messengers throughout all Israel for aid. The Israelites 
were so disheartened that they could only bewail the com- 
ing destruction of Jabesh. When Saul returned with his 
herds from the pasture-lands and heard the story, " the 
Spirit of God came upon Saul and his anger was kindled 
greatly. And he took a yoke of oxen and hewed them in 
pieees, and sent them throughout all the coasts of Israel by 
the hands of messengers, saying, ' Whoever cometh not forth 
after Saul and after Samuel, so shall it be done unto his 
oxen.' And the fear of the Lord fell upon the people, and 
they came out with one consent." (I Samuel, XI: 6-7.) 

Under Saul's leadership the Philistines were routed and 
Jabesh freed from its enemies. Saul was chosen king by the 
people of Israel. 

68. Kingdom of Israel under David and Solomon.— The 
consolidation of the two great divisions of the Hebrews, 
Israel and Judah, was completed by David, the successor 
of Saul. Because of his beauty and ability to play the harp, 
he pleased Saul, and was chosen as his armor-bearer. After 
Saul's death he became king, first of Judah, then later of 
Israel also. The kingdom of Israel now extended "from 
Dan even to Beersheba." The date of founding of the united 
kingdom is about 1000 B. c. 

David made Jerusalem his capital, and there his son and 
successor, Solomon, built his palace and temple to Jehovah, 
which gradually became the central point of the Hebrew 
worship. Under these two kings, Israel became a great 
state in that region, though it was far from attaining the 
power or territorial extent of the great empires which had 
been built up by Babylonia and Egypt. 

The death of Solomon occurred about 930 b. c, and was 
followed by a division of his realm into the kingdoms of 



THE PHOENICIANS AND HEBREWS 



57 



Israel and Judah. Never again were the two united as a 
free and single nation. The political unity of the Hebrews 
was, there tore, of short duration and of little importance, 
excepting in its effect upon the religion. Its real value was 

that it helped to bring 
about a lasting religious 
unity of all the Hebrew 
people. Jehovah became 
the God of the nation, 
and His worship cen- 
tered in the sanctuaries 
established by the kings, 
especially at Jerusalem. 
It brought in, also, 
something of the civili- 
zation of the greater 
world outside of Pales- 
tine, the civilization of 
Babylon and Egypt. 

69. The Need of a 
Religious Revival.— It 
is scarcely credible that 
the idea of God as we 
11 link of Him, the sole 
and all-powerful deity 
of the universe, should 
be immediately accept- 
ed by all the Hebrews 
in the primitive stages 
of their development. 
While the Hebrews were 
going through the process of absorbing the older Canaanite 
population of the country, they also adopted some of their 
gods. After the time of Solomon the contact with 
Babylonia and Egypt brought in still other religions among 
them. Beside Jehovah, Baal, the Canaanite god, had an 
altar and worship, even in Jerusalem. 

And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, 




Restoration of a Bronze Column from the 
Temple at Jerusalem. 

Restored by Chipiez. 



58 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AM) WESTERN ASIA 

and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in 
pieces thoroughly. * * * (II Kings, XI: is.) 

Even some of the Hebrew kings were unable to reach mid 
keep this great idea of Jehovah as the jealous God who 
would not permil belief in any other god. The people 
seemed to be turning away from Jehovah. This went so 
far that Manasseh, who became king of Judah about 685 b. a, 

reared up altars to Baal * * * and worshipped all the host 
of heaven and served them * * * and used enchantments, and 

deal! with I'a miliar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wicked- 
ness in the sighl of the Lord, to provoke him to anger. (II 
Kings, XXI: 3, 6.) 

70. The Work of the Prophets. After the time of Solo- 
mon and the division between the people of Judah and 
Israel, the two kingdoms were hard beset by the Syrians 
and the smaller neighboring peoples. In addition to the 
cruel devastation of continuous wars, there came the " pes- 
tilence after the manner of Egypt," and years of drought, 
when the orchards and the crops failed to yield. Out of 
this misery (^' the Hebrews arose their great prophets. 
They combated the primitive ideas which still remained 
among their people, especially in regard to the worship of 
numerous local and foreign gods. They went about proph- 
esying that God would destroy both Judah and Israel, 
because the people worshipped false gods. The prophets 
declared thai the rich oppressed the poor, and even those 
who worshipped Jehovah did not understand His real nature. 
Passionately the prophet Amos, a herdsman who lived 
about 750 B. C, cried out: 

Woe to them thai are a1 ease in Zion * * * Woe unto you 

that desire the day o\' the Lord! to what end is it for you'.' the 

day of the Lord is darkness and not light. (Amos, V: L8;VI:1.) 

He bade Ins people 

"seek good * * * and not evil, that ye may live; and so the 
Lord, the God of Hosts, shall be with you." 



THE PHOENICIANS AND HEBREWS 



59 



71. The Reformation under Josiah. Trie forebodings of 
the prophets seemed real enough when Samaria, the chief 
city of Lsrael, was captured by the king of the Assyrians, in 
the year 72'.> b. c., 1 its inhabitants led away as captives, and 
tribute imposed upon [srael. Only the kingdom of Judah 
remained free. 

The people themselves now felt that the prophets had 
warned them justly and that their misfortunes wen- due to 




IEARING I uii'.' i i. PO IN I 

Prom ■hi Assyrian relief. 



the wrath of Jehovah at their wickedness. But when they 
tried to apprise Him they did so by reviving old and sav- 
age customs, such as the sacrifice of human beings. The 
prophet Jeremiah rose about 626 b. c, inspired, as he felt, to 

announce the words of Jehovah and rebuke the people for 
hoping to please Him by human sacrifices. 

And they have built the high places of Tophel * * to hum 
their sons and their daughters in the fin- which I commanded 
them not, neither came ii into my heart. (Jeremiah, VII: 31.) 

With the accession of Josiah as king of Judah, a new 

1 I follow the date ^iven by Olmstead, "Sargon of AHHyria," p. 46. 
His proof seems to me to be valid (II Kin^H, XVII: L-6). 



GO CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

period begins in Hebrew religious history. In 621 b. c, 
he carried out the reformation so long demanded by the 
prophets. 

And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of 
Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the 
cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them 
also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to 1 he moon, 
and to the planets, and to all the hosts of heaven. (II Kings, 
XXIII: 5.) 

72. Importance of this Event. — More than ever the wor- 
ship of Jehovah was concentrated in Jerusalem. "The 
men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem," through 
their king, renewed the old covenant with Him, to abide by 
His laws, as they appeared in the agreement with Moses. 
Thus the reformation of the religion was carried out, and 
the victory of the worship of one God assured in Judah. 
Because of the importance of monotheism as an advance in 
the thought and spirit of men, the act of Josiaii is of great 
importance. The Hebrew conception of the one God differs 
from the other monotheistic teachings of ancient times be- 
cause it was not worked out by learned men, who thought 
deeply on religious matters. It was a belief which developed 
and spread through an entire people. Though few in num- 
bers, they gave that belief to the western part of the world 
after the birth of Christ in the Christian religion, and, later, 
through Mohammedanism, to a great part of the East. In 
this fact lies the great importance of the Hebrew people. 

References for Outside Reading 

Phoenicia: Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, ch. 7; Sayce, An- 
cient Empires, pp. 17S-209; the Encyclopaedias, article "Phoenicia"; 
Cunningham, Western Civilization, Vol. I, pp. 54-70; Rawlinson, 
Story of Phoenicia, ch. 1-13. 

The Hebrews: Seignobos, ch. 8; Day, Social Life of the Hebrews, 
pp. 87-98, 207-224; Cornill, History of the People of Israel, pp. 1-115; 
Kent, The Divided Kingdom, pp. 159-198; Smith, Old Testament 
History, ch. 7-9, 12-14. 



THE PHOENICIANS AND HEBREWS 61 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Trade op the Eebrbws. -Cunningham, pp. 40-53; Day, pp. 
68-74. 

2. The Temple at Jerusalem. Kent, United Kingdom, ch. 13; see 
arl icle in Encyclopedia ent i1 led "Temple al Jerusalem." 

:i. The Prophet [saiah. -Kent, Divided Kingdom, pp. 151-158; 
Encyclopcedia8 under " Isaiah." 

4. Village and City Life op the Hebrews. — l);ty, Social Life, 
ch. 5. 

5. Phoenician Trade about600b.c. — Rawlinson, Story of Phoeni- 
cia, ch. 10. 

6. Mining bt the Phoenicians. -Rawlinson, pp. :Jl()-:n2. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE END OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL 

NATIONS 

73. The Beginnings of Assyria.— Among the Semitic tribes 
which occupied Mesopotamia during the early invasions, that 
of the Assyrians established itself west of the Tigris river 
and north of Babylonia. Their chief city was Ashur, named 
after their tribal god. From Ashur the Assyrians gradually 
extended their power eastward across the Tigris river. 

While the Babylonian kingdom was at its height, the 
princes of Ashur were tributary to the Babylonian monarchs. 
Since Mesopotamia was the highway by which Babylonian 
trade passed to Syria and to Egypt, the Babylonian kings 
watched the rise of any new power in that region with a 
jealous eye. The Assyrians, who were a rough and hardy 




Assyrian King Hunting Lions. 
From an Assyrian relief. 

race, passionately fond of hunting wild beasts, cruel in war 
as they were in the chase, had long since adopted the civ- 
ilization of Babylonia, including its system of cuneiform 
writing; and about 1300 b. c, they entered upon a long 
struggle with Babylon for the supremacy over the Mesopo- 
tamian country and its trade-routes. 
74. The Assyrian Empire.— This series of ceaseless wars 

62 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 63 



was broken by the last of the great waves of Semitic migra- 
tion which flooded Mesopotamia and Northern Babylonia 
(about 1100 b. a). It was several centuries before the power 
of Assyria recovered from this invasion of uncivilized Semites, 
but in the ninth century, b. c, she again began to extend her 
sway over Mesopotamia. The real founder of the Assyrian 
Empire is Tiglath-Pileser, IV, who ruled from 745 to 728 b. c. 
His conquests carried him southward into Syria and Pales- 
tine. After a three-year siege the great city of Damascus 
was conquered, and Tiglath-Pileser was free to lead his armies 




Tiglath-Pileser Besieging a Walled City. 
Assyrian relief. 

against Babylon. Here, too, he was successful, and became 
king of Babylon in the place of its native rulers, uniting 
Babylonia and Mesopotamia under one rule, in the year 
728 b. c. 

75. The Great Assyrian Rulers. Sargon.— After Tiglath- 
Pileser there came four strong Assyrian kings, Sargon 
(722-705 b. a), Sennacherib (705-681 b. a), Esarhaddon 



04 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

(681-668 b. o.)j and Ashurbanipal (668-626 b. c). When 
Sargon became kin" 1 , all the new territory conquered by Tig- 
lath-Pileser revolted. By years of fighting, he brought the 
revolting territories of Babylon and Samaria under thorough 
subjection, and Samaria was made into a " province " of the 
Assyrian kingdom. On the walls of his palace Sargon had a 
record of his deeds inscribed, from which the following ex- 
tract is taken: 

Willi (lie help of I he sun-god who aided me to vanquish my 
enemies, I besieged, I occupied the town of Samaria, and I 
brought into captivity 27,280 persons. I look them to Assyria, 
and in (heir stead I placed men to live there whom my hand 
had conquered. I instituted over them my lieutenants as 
governors, and I imposed on them tributes as over the Assyrians. 

Thus was the Kingdom of Israel destroyed as an independent 

state. 

It was Sargon, too, who gave the final blow to the broken 
kingdom of the Mitt it es. Though the Htittite tribes at that 
time were divided into petty principalities and were not 
politically dangerous, the city of Carchomish controlled the 
main highway between Asia and Egypt. Therefore, for the 
commercial advantages to be gained, Sargon took the city, 
and with it immense booty. 

76. Sennacherib.— During the reign of Sennacherib, Baby- 
lon again attempted to shake off the rule of Assyria. Sen- 
nacherib marched against the city, captured it in the year 
OS*.) n. c., and utterly destroyed it. He then tried to put his 
favorite Assyrian city, Nineveh, in its place as the center and 
leader of the cities of western Asia in trade as well as in 
culture. In the Old Testament (lie hatred which Assyrian 
oppression aroused in the Hebrews finds expression in proph- 
ecies of the ruin of Nineveh: 

Woe to the Moody city! It is all full of lies and robbery. 
And it shall come to pass, that all they who look upon thee 
[Nineveh! shall flee from thee, ami say: Nineveh is Laid waste 
* * * who will bemoan her? (II Nahnm, III: 1, 7.) 

It was Sennacherib who carried the arms of Assyria south- 



DEVELOPMENT OK THE ORIENTAL NATION'S 



<;r> 



ward against the kingdom of Judah. Although he compelled 
I [ezekiah, king of Judah, to pay him tribute, he was not able 
to take the city of Jerusalem. From Sennacherib's palace 
comes the following inscription: 

Hezekiah, king of Judah, did not submit to my yoke. Forty- 
six of his cities and strong fortresses I besieged, I plundered, I 
captured. Himself I made like a caged bird in the midst of 
Jerusalem, the city of his royalty. He consented to the pay- 
ment of tribute: 30 talents of gold, 800 talents of silver. 

77. Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal. — The reign of Esar- 
haddon was marked by a milder policy toward the sub- 
jects of Assyria, and a general peace which had been un- 
known before in the bloody annals of Assyrian rule. The king 
appreciated the greatness of the Babylonian civilization, and 
re-built the city of Babylon. The only addition to Assyrian 
territory made by Esarhaddon was Egypt, which remained 
for ten years under Assyrian rule 







} ^WM&m: ' *<&W: 



1 









/": 













.<*&%*£** 



Ashubbanipal Banqueting with In- Queen. (Af 'm:hi relief.) 
Note the lute-player, servants bringing dishes, :hj<1 servants with fans. 

In Ashurbanipal, the decline of the warlike energies of the 
r rian royal line is very apparent. Unlike his prede- 
cessors, he did not appear in person on the battlefield. His 
interest lay rather in collecting the ancient writings of the 
Babylonians, and having them copied upon clay tablets. In 
his palace at Nineveh, the excavators found the library 
which he had brought together. Much of our knowledge of 
6 



66 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN Asia 

Babylonian and Assyrian life and history is duo to the 
scholarly zoal oi Ashurbanipal. 
78. Character of Assyrian Civilization. — The talents oi 

the Assyrian people were shown only in military and in 
political affairs. In all other linos they took up the ideas 

of the Babylonians, and added nothing new. Their alphabet 
and their form oi writing show only slight changes from those 
oi the Babylonians. Their dependence upon the cultured 
life of Babylon is remarkably illustrated in their architecture. 
Since the Babylonians, oi necessity, built their palaces, tem- 
ples, and houses oi sun-dried brick, the Assyrians did likewise, 
although they had. close at hand, excellent stone for building 
material. 

In warfare they were terribly cruel. The royal annals of 
Assyria are tilled with accounts of the taking and burn- 










V - S N . . v \ 5 I v N \ 
Vssyrian artist expn - 

ing of cities, and the pictures in relief on the wall- of their 
palaces testify to the barbarous tortures inflicted upon Assy- 
ria's enemies. When they conquered a new territory, or 
reconquered a tributary state which had revolted, the Assy- 
rian kings " deported " the leading men of that vicinity and 
placed them in some far-off region of the empire. 

79. Assyrian Deportations. An example of this practice 
is to be found above in Sargon's account of his conquests in 
Samaria. Since the ablest men were thus transported into 
distant lands, the poorer classes at home were left with- 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 67 

out leaders who might arouse and guide the spirit oi revolt 
against the domination of Assyria. After the system of de- 
portations had been carried on by successive rulers for over 
a century, another important result must be noted. The 
peoples of western Asia. Babylonians, Assyrians, Armenians, 
Syrians, and Hebrews, seemed to lose the feeling oi separate 
nationality. They grew accustomed to foreign rule. Na- 
tional differences disappeared, and the Assyrian Empire thus 
prepared the way for all the great empires which, in the 
following centuries, were built up out oi the many different 
races oi western Asia. 

80. Assyrian Provincial Government.— The problem of 
governing the many and ill-assorted nations which fell 
under Assyrian sway was a difficult one. In the time of the 
Egyptian and Babylonian Empires the conquered terri- 
tories had been allowed to remain under their loeal rulers, 
but were forced to send tribute to their conquerors. Under 
this system the conquered peoples were always ready to 
revolt as the opportunity came. The Assyrians put into 
practice a new method of ruling the nations they conquered, 
which is called the "provincial" system. In order to lesson 
the chances oi revolt, instead of allowing a local prince to 
rule his own country, the Assyrian king put an Assyrian 
official in. charge as governor, with other Assyrians to help 
him in the administration. This is clearly shown in the 
quotation from Sargon's palace previously given: "I insti- 
tuted over them [the Israelites] my lieutenants as governors." 
Thus the conquered lands were incorporated into the As- 
syrian Empire as "provinces," as parts oi a compact and 
unified organization. 

81. The Fall of Assyria.— The provincial system was a 
great advance toward the development oi the imperial form 
oi government. It was the first system which made a great 
and permanent empire possible. After the fall of Assyria 
the idea was adopted with little change by the Persians, 
whose empire covered about the same territory as the 
Assyrian. From them it was handed on to the Romans, 
and by their genius was moulded into the great provin- 



68 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 



cial system of the Roman Empire, which we shall study 
later. 

The Assyrian organization was far from being a perfect 
one. It was only an advance over earlier forms. Its chief 
weakness lay in the fact that it took the strength of the con- 
quered peoples in oppressive taxes. It sought, not to gov- 
ern the dependent nations for their own welfare, but to 
make the Assyrians rich. As a consequence the hatred 
against Assyria grew stronger as time went by. About 
60() b. c, the Babylonians combined with the Medes, who 




The Four Great Kingdoms in 600 b. c. 
Egypt, Lydia, Babylonia, and Me lia. 

dwelt east of Assyria, took the city of Nineveh, and over- 
threw forever the sway of Assyria. So completely was the 
mighty capital destroyed, that its very location was for- 
gotten, and remained unknown until the nineteenth cen- 
tury, when the excavators brought to light the remains of 
the palaces of the hated city, Nineveh. 

82. The Sum of Her Work.— The important work of Assyria 
may be summed up as follows: 

1. She adopted ami scattered by force of arms the civiliza- 
tion which Babylon had developed. 

2. She leveled the nations, by her conquests and deporta- 
tions, so that national feeling was overcome, and the East was 
prepared to follow any foreign conqueror. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 69 

3. She developed the provincial form of government, which 
was better suited than any previous one had been, to rule an 
empire of vast extent. 

83. The Four Great Kingdoms of the East.— After the de- 
cline and overthrow of Assyrian leadership, three great king- 
doms arose in western Asia, the Babylonian, the Median, 
which lay in the highlands east and north of the Tigris 
river, and the Lydian, in Asia Minor. In this period, also, 
the power and commerce of Egypt revived, so that she lakes 
a place beside the states mentioned, as the fourth great 
power which existed in the year 600 b. c. 

In all these peoples' veins ran the blood of an early popu- 
lation mixed with that of the invading Semites. The As- 
syrian deportations had helped to obliterate local ties. 
Since the strong Oriental nations had always been prone to 
conquer and expand, it was only a question as to which of 
these four peoples should take the place left vacant by 
Assyria as leader and ruler of the East. 

84. The New Babylonian Empire.— After the fall of As- 
syria, Necho, the energetic pharaoh of Egypt, attempted 
to lay hold of Palestine and Syria, and add it to the Egyptian 
domain. This is a revival of the Egyptian state policy of 
controlling the wealth and trade routes of Syria, that dates 
from the time of Thothmes and Rameses. But Necho met a 
worthy opponent in Nebuchadnezzar 1 , who ruled in Baby- 
lon from 605 to 561 b. c. This energetic king defeated the 
forces of Necho, and drove them back into Egypt. Syria 
and Palestine then fell into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar. 
The kings of Judah refused to pay the tribute which the 
Babylonian king demanded of them and finally, in the year 
586 b. c, Jerusalem itself was taken and destroyed. With 
this catastrophe the Jewish people ceased to exist as a politi- 
cal nation. Only in their religion could their nationality 
express itself. 

1 The name of this king was Nabu-kudur-uzur, but he is best 
known under the name given above, which was used by the Hebrews 
in the Old Testament. 



70 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

85. Nebuchadnezzar Rebuilds Babylon.— Although Esar- 
haddon had rebuilt Babylon after its destruction by Sen- 
nacherib, the city had lost much of its former prestige and 
glory. Nebuchadnezzar took great pride in re-building 
it, and making it surpass the old city in beauty and comfort. 

The most essential work in the revival of Babylon's power 
was that of putting the irrigation canals in good order. 
This the king did upon a magnificent scale. His restoration 
of the prosperity of the city was so thorough that Babylon 
again assumed its old position of intellectual leader in the 
East, and retained for over 1500 years some measure of its 
early commercial importance. 

86. Herodotus.— The Greek historian Herodotus, who 
visited Babylon in the fifth century b. c, has described it as 
follows: 

The city is divided into two portions by the river, which runs 
through the midst of it. This river is the Euphrates, a broad, 
deep, swift stream. The city wall is brought down on both 
sides to tin 1 edge of the stream; thence, from the corners of the 
wall, there is carried along each bank a fence of burnt brick. 
The houses are mostly three and four stories high: the streets 
all run in straight lines, not only those parallel to the river, but 
also the cross streets which lead down to the water-side. At 
the ri\er end of these cross streets are low gates in the fence 
that skirts the stream, which are, like the .meat gates of the 
outer wall, of brass, and open on the water. (Herodotus, I : ISO.) 

The two parts of the city were connected by bridges which 
rested upon stone supports. They were so arranged that 
the upper structure of the bridge could be removed at night. 
Among the great sights of Babylon were the hanging gardens 
which Nebuchadnezzar built to please his queen, a Median 
princess. 

87. The Kingdom of Lydia.— The Lydian kingdom, lying 
in Asia Minor west of the Halys river, arose after the strength 
of the Hittitos had declined. The language spoken in Lydia 
was not a Semitic tongue, but was closely related to the 
Indian and European group of languages, called the Indo- 
European, which includes the languages of India and most 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 71 

of the European tongues, for example the Greek, Latin, and 
German, as well as the French, Spanish, and English, which 
are derived from these. It is used as a group name to dis- 
tinguish these similar languages from the Semitic group. 

It is probable that the tribes which brought in the Lydian 
tongue came over into Asia Minor from Europe. They 
lived with the old native population, and took up the 
civilization of their new home, but retained their own 
speech. 

Out of this mixture of races arose the Lydian people, with 
their capital at Sardis. From 600 to 550 b. c. the Lydian 
kings, Alyattes and Croesus, 1 brought under their sway all 
of Asia Minor as far east as the Halys river. They also 
conquered the wealthy Greek cities which occupied the 
western edge of Asia Minor. This connection of the ( rreeks 
with the Oriental nations was destined to have momentous 
results for both peoples, but these are best studied in con- 
nection with Greek history. 

88. The Development of Money Coinage. —The rivers and 
mountains of Lydia were rich in gold, and the Lydians 

^ were active as merchants. To them 

^^^'^-^^w\ * s ^ ue ^ e mvcn ti° n of metal coins, 
t hf^ f C iM$\ on(t °f the, greatest steps in the <!<•- 
ml rfH ve l°P men t of business in the world's 
history. From the earliesl times men 
had traded with their neighbors. In 
Lydian Gold Coin of ancient Egypt they exchanged one 
(Eniar cd ) article directly for another (1 he system 

of barter) . It is necessary, however, in 
complex business dealings to have a common " medium of ex- 
change." That is to say, in trading under the primitive system, 
a fisherman might have fish to sell and a man who made shoes 
might want some fish; but if the fisherman did not want shoes 
just then, they could not strike a bargain. Hence arose the use 
of valuable metals, gold, silver and bronze, as "mediums of 
exchange." The metals were put into shape convenient for 

1 It is the fabled wealth of this Croesus which has given us our 
modern phrase, "as rich as Croesus. " 



72 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

handling, especially into rings, and were made in standard 
weight. Now when the shoemaker went to buy from the 
fisherman, he weighed out to him a certain number of 
bronze rings. The fisherman could keep the bronze rings 
until he needed some cloth. He would then go to the weaver 
and weigh out to him the number of rings which would 
equal the value of the cloth. Both the Egyptians and 
the Babylonians used such weights in the exchange 
of goods. The ' shekel " of the Babylonians is one 
example. 

By this means trade could be carried on more easily be- 
tween distant countries. One difficulty, however, remained, 
namely, that the metal bars and rings had to be weighed at 
each exchange, because they could easily be mixed with other 
substances and their value diminished. The Lydians were 
the first to strike upon the idea of " coinage." This means 
that the state takes over the exclusive right to strike off 
metal pieces. It makes them in certain fixed sizes and 
weights and stamps upon them the coat-of-arms, perhaps, 
also, the name of its king. The quality and weight of the 
gold, silver, or bronze in the coin are thus guaranteed by the 
state. Business is thus made easier and more secure. This 
idea of the Lydians was adopted by the Greeks of Asia 
Minor, then by the Greeks of Europe, and from them it has 
come down to us. 

89. The Medes and Persians. — The language of the Medes, 
and that of the related tribes to the southeast of them, the 
Persians, is of the Indo-European group. Their religion, 
too, and the fundamental ideas which their civilization pre- 
sents, mark them as apart from the Semitic and Mediter- 
ranean races which we have studied. 

When the Assyrian Empire was destroyed, its territory 
was divided among the Medes, the Lydians, and the Baby- 
lonians, the Halys river forming the boundary between the 
Median and the Lydian kingdoms. In the year 553 b. c, 
Cyrus, king of the Persians and a subject of the Median 
king, revolted against his overlord; and three years later, he 
defeated and captured him. Thus the leadership in the 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 73 




East fell to a fresh and vigorous people, the Persians, under 

a king of great ability. 

Against this Cyrus, who is justly called the Great, the 
Babylonians, Lydians, and Egyptians com- 
bined. Cyrus first marched against Croesus 
of Lydia, crossed the Halys river, and de- 
feated the wealthy and powerful Lydians 
(546 b. a). The Lydian kingdom was made 
a part of Persia, and with it the Greek 
cities in western Asia Minor. In 539 b. c. 
Babylon, too, was captured by Cyrus. The 
Babylonian territory thus added to Cyrus' 
dominion included the countries subject to 
Babylon, namely, Syria and Palestine. Under 
Cambyses (529-522 b. a), who succeeded 
Cyrus upon the Persian throne, Egypt also 
succumbed to the advancing power of the 
Persians. Under the great Darius (521-485 

a Persian archer, b. c.) the attempt was made to bring the 

Fromafriozeofpaint- country of Greece under Persian rule, but 

ed tiles found at Susa. J . . . . „ . . . ~, . 

as this war chiefly concerned the Greeks, 
it must be considered under the history of that people. 

90. Extent and Culture of the Persian Empire. — After the 
conquests just enu- 
merated, the Persian 
Empire included all 
the ancient peoples 
whose history we 
have so far traced, 
excepting those of 
the iEgean islands. 
It was a vast extent 
of territory, stretch- 
ing from Egypt and 
the Mediterranean 
sea in the west, to the Indus river in the east, from the 
Persian Gulf and the Arabian desert in the south, to the 
Caspian and Black seas in the north. The distance from 



I 




King Darius Piercing a Rebel with His Lance. 
From a Persian seal. 



74 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

east to west was somewhat greater than that from New York 
to San Francisco. 

In its territory, therefore, the Persian Empire sums up 
the ancient history of western Asia. It was the first all- 
inclusive world empire. In other respects, also, it brings 




Extent of the Persian Empire in 500 b. c. 

to an end the historical development of the nations in that 
part of the world. Although the Persians were more akin 
to the people of Europe than to the Semitic and other peo- 
ples whom they conquered, they were unable to resist the 
spell of the old Babylonian life. Their own national ideas 
and peculiar talents were not strong enough to change the 
long-established culture of the land and people whom they 
ruled, and, as the Assyrians had done before them, they 
adopted the views and mode of life characteristic of the old 
Babylonians. 

91. Government and Language.— The method by which 
the Persians governed their vast empire was that which 
the Assyrians had evolved and used. The provinces (called 
by the Persians, satrapies) were ruled over by Persian govern- 
ors, the satraps. Their rule was far better than that of the 
Assyrians, because they were less cruel and more thoughtful 
of the welfare of the subject lands. 

The Persian method of writing shows again how their 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 75 

national life was unable to escape the Babylonian influence. 
In commerce and in government reports the Persian Empire 
made use of the Syrian and the Babylonian languages, quite 
as much as the native Persian tongue; and when the Persian 
language was used, it was expressed in the Babylonian cunei- 
form writing. 

Before the Persian conquest the Babylonian civili ration 
had not extended eastward beyond the head of the Persian 
Gulf. It was, perhaps, the greatest service performed by the 
Persian Empire that it brought within the circle of this 
cultured life the territory from Media to India. The fur- 
ther story of Persia is closely connected with that of the 
Greeks in Europe. It centers round the attempt to con- 
quer Greece, and to carry into Europe the Oriental-Baby- 
lonian civilization which Persia represented. How this at- 
tempt failed will be the subject of our study when we deal 
with the Greeks. 

92. Summary of the Advance in Civilization Made by the 
Egyptian and Western Asiatic Peoples. — In the period ex- 
tending from about 4000 to 500 b. c, the races living in 
Egypt and western Asia had done much to advance man's 
knowledge, as is shown by the following statements: 

1. The Egyptians and Babylonians had learned the art of writ- 
ing and of pres rving the records of their thoughts and history. 

2. They had determined the length of the year, and marked 
the passage of time by the course of the moon and the sun. 

3. They had learned to make weapons and tools out of harder 
metals, first of bronze, then of iron. 

4. They lived in cities of large size, and had learned to build 
comfortable houses as well as large and beautiful palaces and 
temples. 

5. In business, they had developed overland and oversea 
trade, and the Lydians had begun the system of coinage which 
made this extensive trade much easier. 

6. In religion, the Hebrews had developed the worship of one 
God, which was destined to supplant the old polytheistic beliefs 
and prevail in a great part of the civilized world in the form of 
Christianity. 



76 CIVILIZATION OF EGYPT AND WESTERN ASIA 

7. The form of the state in which men lived had changed 
from the little city-state of the pre-historic Egyptian and Baby- 
lonian periods, to the wide extent of the mighty Persian Empire, 
with its complicated government. 

Much had already b.en done. There remained much 
more to do, as must always be the case so long as man 
progresses and develops. Too great power rested in the hands 
of the rulers, and the governments were run for them and 
their favorites, rather than for the people. The great mass 
of their subjects were satisfied and uncomplaining if they 
got enough to eat. Consequently, there was little ambition 
or desire on the part of the common people to think and act 
for themselves. Literature and art were bound to the service 
of the rulers, to laud their great deeds in verse and song, and 
to decorate their palace walls. Excepting among the He- 
brews, religious thought had become bound by the tradi- 
tions of the past, and the rules of the priests. Civilization 
had advanced wonderfulty in the period which we have 
studied; but with the good accomplished for mankind, evil 
conditions had developed w r hich were so strongly set in the 
lives and thought of the Oriental races that the world could 
hope for but little further progress through their agency. 
The further advance in civilization could onty be gained by 
the aid of new and fresh peoples with new ideas. 

References for Outside Reading 

Assyria: Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, ch. 4, 6; Maspero, 
Egypt and Assyria, ch. 14, 16, 18, 19; Goodspeed, Babylonians and 
Assyrians, pp. 223-264, 314-320; Sayce, Ancient Empires, pp. 123-178; 
Winckler, History of the Babylonians and Assyrians, pp. 286-310; 
Sayce, Assyria, Its Princes, etc., ch. 2; Olmstead, Sargon of Assyria. 

Persia: Sayce, Ancient Empires of the East, ch. 5; Seignobos, 
pp. 69-75; Benjamin, Story of Persia, ch. 1-8. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Assyrian Warfare. — Sayce, Assyria, Its Princes, Etc., pp. 124- 

128; Maspero, Ancient Egypt and Assyria, ch. 18, 19, 20. 

2. Assyrian Hunting. — Look at the pictures in Maspero, and criti- 

cize the drawing of wild animals. 



DEVELOPMENT OF THE ORIENTAL NATIONS 77 

3. Private Life of an Assyrian. — Maspero, Ancient Egypt and 

Assyria, ch. 12. 

4. Nebuchadnezzar and Daniel. — Book of Daniel in the Old Testa- 

ment, ch. 1, 2. 

5. Hebrew Account of the Siege of Jerusalem by Sennacherib. 

— II Kings, ch. 18, verses 13-37, ch. 19. 

6. Darius and the Organization of the Persian Empire. — Sayce, 

Ancient Empires, pp. 247-250. 



PART II 
THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



CHAPTER VII 
HELLAS AND THE HELLENES 

93. The Importance of the Greeks. — The people living 
in the smallest of the three Mediterranean peninsulas, the 
one we call Greece, speak of themselves to-day as Hellenes, 
and call their country Hellas. These were the names which 
they used in ancient times also, but the Roman writers 
called them Greeks, as we do. We are to study now the 
history of this Hellenic or Greek people, and to see in what 
ways they took up the civilization of Egypt and Babylonia, 
and how many new and important additions they made in 
the centuries of their greatness. They have left their stamp 
even upon the life of to-day; and we must acknowledge that 
we are indebted to the ancient Greeks for much that is good 
in our civilization. 

94. The People. — In prehistoric times, the peninsula of 
Greece was occupied by a people probably akin to those who 
lived originally in Egypt, in Crete, in Northern Africa, in 
Spain, and in Italy. It is not possible to tell when the Hel- 
lenic tribes moved down from the north and occupied the 
peninsula, nor can the historian tell whence they came. The 
language, however, which the Hellenes spoke is of the general 
Indo-European group. It is, therefore, related to the lan- 
guages of the people of India, of the Germans, of the Italian 
tribes, and of the Celts of Gaul and Spain. The Hellenes inter- 
married with the native population so that the Greek race 
of history is of the combined blood of the two; but the earlier 

79 



80 



TIN-: HISTORY OF GREECE 






inhabitants adopted the Indo-European language and the 
customs which the Hellenes brought in with them. 

95. Nature of the Country. -The present kingdom of 
Greece is of about the same extent as the Hellas of old, a 
country almost equal to West Virginia in size, and in about 
the same latitude. Its climate varies greatly in different 
parts; but because of < he influence of the surrounding sea it is 
iu general mild, especially in the valleys and along the coast. 
To-day one may see tropical fruits, such as lemons and 
oranges fruits unknown to the ancient Greeks — growing in 
the valleys of Sparta. The air is bright and clear, with 
months of almost cloudless weather. The landscape is 

n^ broken by ranges 

of high and tree- 
less mountains 
surrounding val- 
ley lands, through 
which small rivers 
run down to the 
sea. There are no 
great stretches of 
prairie, as in the 
Middle West of 
our own country, 
nor are there pla- 
teaus which 
gradually ascend to the mountains. The low valleys lie be- 
tween masses of immense bowlders, and the way from one 
valley to another leads over these, through passes which are 
not easy for horses or men to travel. This physical fact has 
a tendency to cut off the valley districts from communica- 
tion with one another. 

96. Its Effect on the Development of the Hellenes.— It is 
in large measure due to this physical feature of the country 
that the Greeks were never able to unite to form a single 
great Hellenic nation. Trade between the districts sepa- 
rated by the mountains was difficult. Those which had an 
outlet upon the sea could trade more easily by boat than by 







M<M'\T\I\ \M> Yu.II'.Y L.WDSCAl'lO IN TlIKSSAI.Y. 



HELLAS AND THE HELLENES 



81 



pack-trains over the mountain-passes. This fact tended to 
make the Greeks well acquainted with the sea at a very 
early period in their history. 

Some of the valleys are quite fertile, but these form a 
small portion of the area of the entire peninsula. Therefore, 
as the population grew, the Greeks were forced to import 
their grain and other food supplies in large quantities, by 
ship, from other countries. Large and small bays and inlets 
cut into the coast of Greece, and give the country a greater 
extent of shore-line, compared to its size, than any land we 
know. 

97. The Hellenes on the Sea.— The waters around Greece 
are comparatively calm. To the east and south many 
islands led the sailors step by step toward Asia, and without 
losing sight of land they passed from one of these islands to 
another, gradually colonizing them. The coast-line, broken 
into gulfs and bays; the difficulty of trading by way of the 
mountains; and the small extent of the fertile strips of valley; 
all of these features tended to make the Hellenes a sea-going 
people; and trade 
with the islands 
of the /Egean 
brought them 
early into contact 
with the Oriental 
nation-. 

The journey 
around the Pelo- 
ponnesus was dan- 
gerous for the sail- 
ing and rowing vessels, and this fact caused the western 
coast of Greece to develop much later than the eastern. 
Moreover, there was no civilized people in Italy from whom 
the Hellenes of the west could learn, as those of the east 
eoast picked up the ways of the Orient through the Phoeni- 
cians. 

98. Early Religious Beliefs.— The religion of the Hellenes, 
when they came into the Balkan peninsula, was that of a 




. --- ■ 



Coast-line and Mots-tains of the Pelopox: 



82 



TMM HISTORY i)V GREECE 




Bust of Hermes, the (!<h> oi rai 

Streets. 

From a (Jink Vase-painting <>f 

aboul 400 n. o. 



wandering people of shepherds and hunters. Their gods 
were the protectors each of some one activity or phase of 
the life of the people. Apollo, for example, watched over 
(heir herds. Hestia was the goddess who protected the 
hearth. Hermes, too, was a, god who looked after the herds 

as well as the streets and their 
traffic. Aboveall the other deities, 
and mightier I han I hey, was Zeus, 
the god of the sky and the clouds 
and the storm. 

The ancient Hellenes thought 

that these gods might live in 

stones, in trees, or in animals. 
I lenee I hese objects, as the dwell- 
ing-places of the gods, received 
worship from the people. In some 

places the wolf was worshipped as 

Apollo, in others as Zeus. At hena, 

the goddess of wisdom, was worshipped as a snake. All 

these are the remains of a much earlier and more savage 
worship of stones and other things without life, or of animals, 
as <i;ods. When the Hellenes first appear in history, they 

had passed this crude form of worship; yet the barbarous 
custom of human sacrifice to the gods still remained in 
certain localit ies. 

99. The Tribal System. -The chief occupations of the 
early Greeks were hunting and the pasturing of cattle, 
mainly sheep and goats. These furnished I hem wit h milk, 
cheese, meat, and wool for their clothes. As the number of 
the people increased in the small valley districts, they were 

forced to take up the planting of grains and vegetables; for 
the same amount of ground when planted with such crops 
will support a greater number than if it is given over to 

pasturing alone. The SmallneSS of the valleys had also the 

effect of breaking up the race into small tribes, the mem- 
bers of which believed that they were of one blood and 
descended from a single ancestor. The tribes were further 
divided into phratries, or brotherhoods, and families, 



JIKLLAS AM) 'I'lli; HELLENES 



83 



where the relationship \v;is closer than that of the whole 
tribe. 

From the idea of blood kinship arose the important law of 
the " blood fend." If ,'i man of one tribe was killed by a 
man of another, .'ill the members of his tribe were religiously 
hound to avenge the murder. This would have caused ;i 
never-ending series of murders between different tribes and 
families within the tribe itself, had it not been for, the sys- 
tem of " blood fines." J>y this system the nearest relatives 
of the dead man 
might give up their 
claim of revenge 
for a certain price. 
This might be paid 
in cattle, arms, or 
other articles of 
value, and the pay- 
menl ended the 
feud. 

100. The Or- 
ganization of the 
Tribe.- The basis 
of the tribe was 
the body of the 
warriors, who must be full tribesmen. At their head Mood the 
chieftain, or king, called " basileus" by the Greeks. He was 
the judge of the tribe, and the leader in war. 

By the side of the basileus was the Council of Elders, the 
old and experienced men who had passed the fi^htin^; age. 
They advised the king in matters relating to the tribe, 
mid helped him to decide disputes according to the tribal 
customs. 

101. Advance of the Hellenes, 1300-1000 B. C. Excava- 
tions have shown that the Cretans had buill mighty palaces 
in Greece, at Mycenae, at Tiryns, at Orchomenos in Bo-otia, 
and in other places. From these centers, they ruled the 
native population as their overlords. About L300 B. C, a 
movement from north to south began among the Hellenic 

7 




Early m Greek Vase-painting. 

Warriors Departing to Battle. A Woman Bewails their 
Depart urc. 



84 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

tribes which finally resulted in the overthrow of these Myce- 
naean centers of Greece. No doubt their rulers had become 
too luxurious in their living, and had lost their war-like 
energy. En this condition of decay, it was inevitable that 
they should lose their leadership to a more energetic and war- 
like people. Before their palaces were taken and burned, the 
Cretans from their outposts in Greece had taught the Hel- 
lenes something of their own artistic skill, and had given 
them a glimpse of the higher and more cultured life which 
they themselves enjoyed. 

102. The .ffigean Islands Occupied. As the Hellenic tribes 
increased in numbers, the land no longer Sufficed for the 

allotment of ground to the young men. This condition 
forced them to go out upon the islands of the /Kgean. Grad- 
ually these were Tilled up with I Iellenes, and the older ( Yetan 
population was either rooted out or absorbed into the new, 
adopting their customs and language. An inscription from 
Egypt in the time of Kameses III (about 1150 B. C.) tells us 
that the " islands were restless." Everything points to this 
time as belonging to the period when the Greeks spread 

Over the .Kgean islands. From these islands it was but one 

further step to occupy the coast land of Asia. Minor. The 
whole movement must have occupied several centuries be- 
fore its complel ion. 

103. The Chief Greek Tribes. Several centuries after 

these movements, when the Hellenes themselves began to 
take an interest in their past, they found that the many 

Greek tribes fell naturally into four large groups, the .Kolian, 
Dorian, Ionian, and Achaean. In the attempt to explain 
these names and the kinship of all the Hellenic tribes, they 
imagined that these were all descended from one hero, 
Hellen. The .Eolians and Dorians, as they thought, were 
descended from his sons, .Kolus and Dorus, the lonians and 
Acha'ans from his grandsons, Ion and Achaais. 

104. The Dorian Migration (about 1000 B. C.).— The an- 
cient ( J reek writers tell a confused story of a final great move- 
ment among the Greeks which entirely changed the geograph- 
ical position of the various tribes. They relate that the 




Greece, the .Egean Sea Asia and Minor 




from 26° Greenwich 27 



wing the General Relationship by Tribes. 



HELLAS AND THE HELLENES 85 

Thessalians had once lived in Epirus, but something oc- 
curred which drove them over the Pindus range into the 
valley which has ever since been called after them, Thessaly. 
The Boeotians, an iEolian tribe, were forced out of Thessaly 
and occupied the Boeotian plain. The movement of the 
Thessalians also drove out the Dorians, who left a portion 
of their tribe in the little state of Doris in Central Greece; 
but the greater part moved into the Peloponnesus, conquered 
the people living there, and made a large part of the country 
Dorian. 

This tradition is in its main outlines correct. The earliest 
books of the Greek people, the epic poems called the Iliad 
and the Odyssey, locate the tribes in a different position from 
that which they held in historic times; and thus it is evi- 
dent that some general shifting of tribes had taken place. 
The movement is generally put at about 1000 b. c, and is 
called the Dorian Migration. 

105. The Coast of Asia Minor Becomes Greek (1000 B. C). 
— This final shifting of the Greek tribes brought about a 
renewed exodus eastward and completed the settling of the 
sea-coast of Asia Minor. The western and southern coast 
was studded with Hellenic cities, and falls into three sections, 
according to the general tribal character of the colonists. In 
the north, from the Troad to the Hermus river, including 
the island of Lesbos, the emigrants were mainly .Eolians 
and Acha3ans. This strip was called iEolis, and the dialect 
there spoken was the soft and liquid zEolian Greek. Farther 
to the south was Ionia, settled by Hellenes of the Ionian tribe, 
who occupied, also, the large islands of Chios and Samos. 
The Ionian cities of Ephesus, Magnesia, and Miletus soon 
became populous; and the development of their manufac- 
tures and trade with the inland Lydians and Carians soon 
made them more prosperous and important than any cities 
in Greece itself. 

South of Ionia, the coast-line, with the islands of Cos and 
Rhodes, was settled with Dorian cities. Crete had already 
been overrun by men of the same tribe. The relation be- 
tween the Dorians in Crete and those in the Peloponnesian 



86 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

city of Sparta is clearly proven by the similarity of their 
political institutions, as seen in later times. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 98-102, 106-08; Oman, History 
of Greece, pp. 1-5, 19-28, 47-51; Bury, History of Greece, pp. 1-5, 39-46; 
Abbott, History of Greece, Vol. I, ch. 1. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Greek Idea of the Beginning of the World. — Fair- 

banks, Mythology of Greece and Rome, ch. 2. 

2. Topography and Climate of Greece. — Encyclopedias under 

"Greece." 

3. Primitive Government Among the Greeks. — Work out from 

the Iliad (Lang, Leaf and Myers, pp. 22-29, 381 ; Fling's Source 
Book, pp. 13-16) the various parts of the old tribal government. 

4. Zeus, Father of Gods and Men. — Fairbanks, Mythology of 

Greece and Rome, pp. 88-97. 

5. Apollo as God of Light, of Agriculture, and of the Herds. 

— Fairbanks, Mythology of Greece and Rome, pp. 126-130, 
especially p. 128. 

6. Phoenician Intercourse With Greece. — Bury, pp. 76-79. 



CHAPTER VIII 

EARLY HELLENIC CIVILIZATION AS SHOWN IN THE 
HOMERIC POEMS 

106. The Age of Epic Poetry. —The excavations of their 
palaces in Crete and in Greece have told us the story of the 
Cretan people, whose greatness stretched over a long period 
of time perhaps ending about 1000 b. c. For the next 
centuries, from 1000 to 700 b. c, we have little archaeological 
evidence upon which to found our knowledge of the Hellenic 
race, which succeeded the Cretans in Greece and in the 
iEgean Islands. In place of this we take the Iliad and the 
Odyssey, two epic poems which gradually assumed shape 
during these centuries, and learn from them something of 
the social life and government of the age in which they were 
written. 

By 700 b. c, the Iliad and the Odyssey were completed, 
almost in the same form in which they are read to-day. The 
Iliad tells a story of events which occurred in the tenth year 
of the war of the Greeks against Troy. The manner of its 
opening shows clearly that the author was certain that his 
hearers knew all the story up to that point. Every Greek 
knew the tale of how Paris, son of Priam of Troy, went to 
'* lovely Lacedemon," and stole Helen, " fair among women," 
from her husband Menelaus. All knew the rest of the tale, 
how " wide-ruling Agamemnon, leader of the hosts," gath- 
ered the Greek warriors against Troy-land to take revenge 
upon Priam and his son Paris. 

107. Story of the Iliad and the Odyssey.— The Iliad tells 
the tale of the wrath of the god-like Achilles, who had been 
angered by the treatment accorded him by Agamemnon, 
leader of the Greek host. Achilles refused to assist in the 
fighting; but when his beloved friend, Patroclus, was killed 
by the Trojan warrior, Hector, he returned to the fray and 

87 



88 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



slew Hector under the walls of Troy. The story closes with 
the account of the ransoming of Hector's body and the 
mourning of the Trojan women over his fate. 

The Odyssey recounts the ten years' wandering and the 




Achilles Slaying Hector. 

Circk Vase-painting of about 500 b. c. The figures are Athena, Achilles, Hector, 

Apollo. 

adventures of the crafty Greek hero, Odysseus, on his home- 
ward journey after Troy had been captured. When, at last, 
disguised as a beggar, he reached his island home of Ithaca, 

he slew the insolent suit- 
ors who were bothering 
his faithful wife, and the 
two were happily re- 
united. 

108. The Authorship of 
the Iliad and the Odyssey. 
— When the Iliad and 
the Odyssey, because of 
their marvelous beauty, 
had become the great 
national poems of the 
Greek peoples, men be- 
gan to inquire about 
Homer, who was said to 
have written them. They 
thought that he was a blind singer, and in the fourth century 
b. c, an unknown sculptor carved a head of Homer as he 
thought the blind poet might have looked. This was for 
centuries accepted as the authentic portrait of the writer 
of the Iliad and the Odyssey. 




Odysseus Slaying the Suitors. 
From a Vase-painting of about 450 b. c. 



EARLY HELLENIC CIVILIZATION 



89 



It is now generally believed that the Iliad grew out of a 
number of songs telling the deeds of the Greek heroes, all 
woven around an original story, the Wrath of Achilles. 
These songs were written by different bards, or recitationists, 
and handed down from generation to generation. There 
probably was one poet of greater genius than the rest who 
worked them over, and put them into their present form. 
He must have lived sometime before 
700 b. c, but we cannot prove who 
he was, nor that his name was 
Homer. 

109. Government in the Epic 
Poems. — The Homeric poems arose 
in a chaotic period of change and 
unrest — a time of movement and 
migration among the Greeks. This 
unsettled condition is reflected in 
the government of the Greeks in the 
camp about Troy, which may be 
taken as fairly typical of the gov- 
ernment of the age. 

The rule was in the hands of an 
hereditary king; but this royal power 
was much restricted by the nobles called "elders," or 
"sceptered chiefs," who formed the king's council. Yet the 
king was commander-in-chief in war, high priest at the 
public sacrifices, and supreme judge in the primitive court of 
the time. 

When any very important action was on foot, after the 
king had discussed it with his Council (the Boule), the Agora, 
or assembly of the fighting men who supported the state, was 
called. The business was placed before this body and ex- 
plained by the king and the nobles, who alone had the right 
to debate. Then the folk shouted its approval or dissent. 
Once, in the Iliad, a man of the common folk dared to speak 
his mind, and, although he was beaten from the Assembly, 
the incident shows that the common people were finding 
their voice in the government. 




Study of Homer. 

By an Artist of the Fourth 
Century b. c. 



90 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



110. Slavery. — The treatment of slaves, especially as 
shown in the Odyssey, demonstrates that the men of the time 
were merciful. No example of cruelty to a slave is to be 
found in the Iliad or the Odyssey. The slaves were usually 
captives taken in war, or those stolen in their childhood by 
Phoenician traders. They served about the palace as domes- 
tic servants, or out in the fields as shepherds and farm-hands. 
The gentle and kindly feeling existing between master and 
servant may be seen in that passage in the Odyssey where 
Odysseus makes himself known to two of his men, both 
herdsmen: 

They threw their arms round wise Odysseus and passionately 
kissed his face and neck. So likewise did Odysseus kiss their 
heads ami hands. (Palmer's translation, p. 335.) 

111. Estimate of the Homeric Civilization. — The Homeric 
poems are artistic works of great beauty. The genius 
displayed in their composition shows that the time was 
one in which civilization was already well advanced, 
although the life of the Hellenes was much simpler than that 
of the Cretans, whose leadership they had usurped in Greece 
and the .Egean Islands. The Homeric chieftains knew noth- 




Old Greek Vase-painting of the Early Homeric Period. 
It Represents a Festal Chorus of Men and Women. 

ing of the realistic wall-paintings which decorated the Cretan 
palaces, nor of the fine gem-cutting of the Cretans. Their 
life was less magnificent, and their artistic work more crude; 
hence, when they got hold of a fine Mycenaean or Cretan 



EARLY HELLENIC CIVILIZATION 91 

shield embossed with figures, they thought it must be the 
work of some god. 

Yet the Hellenes of this age show an ability to express their 
own individuality and taste in a way which marks them as 
quite apart from the other nations of ancient times. The 
Iliad and the Odyssey display a freshness which literature 
had never before shown. In government, democracy, which 
means "the power of the people," was beginning to manifest 
itself in the Homeric assembly of warriors. 

112. The Unifying Effect of the Poems.— The popularity 
and influence of the Iliad and the Odyssey among the Greek 
people were very great. At first the poems were recited by 
travelling elocutionists and later were eagerly read. They 
came to be regarded as the national poems of all the Hellenes, 
and they were finally used as text-books in Greek schools. 
Thus they aided greatly in developing a feeling among the 
Hellenes that, whatever their tribal differences might be, 
they were nevertheless all one people. 

The unifying effect of these poems is best seen in the Greek 
religion. Among the many local deities of the Greek tribes, 
those gods who appeared prominently in the Iliad and the 
Odyssey were soon regarded as the national, or common, 
Hellenic gods. In the poems they were represented as being 
very like men and women, although larger and more beau- 
tiful. They felt anger and pain, like human beings, and 
were often jealous of each other. They differed from men 
only in their grandeur and in being immortal. 

113. The Greek Oracles.— The Greeks thought that the 
gods expressed their will to men by signs; for example, when 
Zeus, the greatest of the gods, caused the thunder to roll it 
signified that he was angry. Even in the time when the 
Iliad and the Odyssey were being written, certain places were 
beginning to be regarded as especially favorable spots at 
which worshippers might question the gods and learn their 
will. At these sacred places the " oracles" developed, which 
played so important a part in the political and social life of 
the Greeks. 

Among the famous oracles was that of the mighty god 



92 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Zeus at Olympia in Elis, where, later, the great Olympic 
games were held. But the chief god of the oracles was 
Apollo, to whom Zeus had given the power of prophesying 
the future. Before 600 b. c. the authority of the oracle of 
Apollo at Delphi, in central Greece, was recognized wherever 
( rreek was spoken. From every quarter of the Greek world 
statesmen and merchants came to ask the advice of Apollo 
before beginning any important undertaking. This advice 
was obtained from the mutterings of a priestess, who was 
supposed to be inspired by the god and to reveal his will. 
Even Croesus, (he wealthy and powerful king of Lydia, 
sought to obtain the good will of Apollo by sending rich 
gifts to his shrine at Delphi. So the oracles became the 
centers of Greek religious feeling. Like the Homeric poems, 
they formed a bond of union in the scattered life of the 
Greek world. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Oirilization, pp. L02-05; 112-21; Oman, History 
of Greece, eh. ;>, I; Bury, History of Greece, pp. 65-79; Mahaffy, Survey 
of (Irak Oirilization, eh. 2; Fling, Source Book of Greek History, ch. 1; 
Seymour, Life in the Homeric Age, ch. :>, 9, 14-10. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Describe the Fight Between Achilles and Hector. — Iliad, 

Bk. 22, preferably in the Lang, Leaf, and Myers' translation. 

2. The Funeral Games in Honor of Patroclus. — Iliad, Bk. 23. 

3. The Death of the Suitors. — Odyssey, Bks. 21 and 22. 

L The Women of the Homeric Age. — Seymour, Life in the 
Homeric Age, pp. 117-138. 

5. Hector and Andromache. — Iliad, Bk. 6; Lang, Leaf, and Myers, 

pp. 122-127. 

6. Odysseus and the Cyclops. — Odyssey, Bk. 9. 



CHAPTER IX 

THE SPREADING OF THE GREEKS ALONG THE MEDI- 
TERRANEAN SHORE 

114. What Colonization Means. — We have already seen 
how the Greeks, toward the end of the Cretan age, filled 
the islands of the /Egean Sea and the coast of Asia Minor. 
When the people of any country increase so rapidly in 
numbers that the land will not support them, the surplus 
population must move out and settle in other countries less 
thickly populated. If the new settlements remain depend- 
ent upon the old country or even keep a close connection 
with it and do not adopt the customs, language, and govern- 
ment of the new country, they are called colonies. 

115. Causes of the Greek Colonizing Movement. —The 
Phoenicians had been the great colonizers of the Mediterra- 
nean Sea. Their object had been to establish posts upon the 
sea-coast as centers of trade; with the natives of the less civi- 
lized countries. When the Hellenes began to expand over 
the /Egean Islands and into Asia Minor (see §105), they soon 
took from the Phoenicians the trade which they had held in 
these regions, and the Phoenicians were forced to look for 
other opportunities in the western Mediterranean. The 
chief cause of the Hellenic colonization of this era lay in the 
fact that Greece was over-crowded and that there was not 
enough food to support the increasing population. Other 
causes art 1 to be found in the Hellenic love of adventure in 
new lands, and trouble in the party politics of the home cities. 
Religious persecution, which played such an important part 
in the colonizing of our own country, was not a factor in 
Greek colonization. In the later part of the movement many 
colonies were founded with an eye to controlling the trade 
of the new country for the mother-city. 

93 



1)1 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 




11G. Method of Colonization. The time of this movement 
of expansion extends from about 800 to 500 b. e. The 
Greek cities were now beginning to manufacture articles, 
especially pottery in the form of jars, bowls, and drink- 
ing cups. They bad learned by experience the value <>f 
colonies, i bat they could buy raw products cheaply 
of the natives there and sell to them at a profit 
the goods manufactured at home out of these raw 
materials. 

The method of colonizing differed from that of 
modern limes. When a noble in pne of the Greek 
cities found it impossible to live longer at borne 

in pence, lie would u;o tO one of t he oracles, USU.'llly 

to that of Delphi. Here he would ask the per- 
mission of the god to settle in some definite place, 
if he had already chosen the site. II not, he 
would ask Hie god to advise him where to locate. 
The priests of ihe god would explain the curious 
answers received from the oracle and indicate, 
more or less vaguely, the spot where the colony 

Not .'ill of the colonists wore 

drawn from m single city. Adventurers, and i hose 

who were politically discontented, came from 

cities near and far; l>ut the colony always retained a feeling 

of love and kinship for the city where all these people met 

for the expedition. 

'The leader of the colony, usually chosen from the nobility 
of the mother-city, carried the sacred fire from the hearth of 
the mother-city to the new- land. He organized the govern- 
ment on the pattern of that of the old home and laid out the 
new city according to a regular plan, usually rectangular, 
t he principal si reets crossing each other at righl angles. The 

proper amount of land was given to the gods for temples, 
and the remainder parcelled out to Ihe colonists by lot. 
Alter his deal h 1 he colony's leader w as held in sacred memory 

and worshipped as a hero. 

1 n t he course o\' 200 years, from 750 to . r ), r >() b, c, 1 he coasts 

of the Propontis and the Black Sea in the east, and of lower 



\ i in \i w 

\ L8E. 

i Ind "i the 
i 1 1 i i. Cen- 
tura \|>im. should S6ttl< 

< 1 1 1 1 • rid i ii,". 

.•II B W hi. 



TIIK SPREADING OF THE GREEKS 



95 




GriKKi . 'mi 



wn n < > i. \'.\ i 01 OAMi 

painting. 



[taly and of Sicily in the west, were studded with cities of 
adventurous and prosperous Greeks. A number of colonie 
were founded in Egypt, in Gaul, and in Spain. These grew 
rapidly and soon be- 
came weall hier than 
1 he older cities of I he 
( rreek peninsula. 

117. The Colonies 
of Lower Italy. At 
an curly date Greek 
settlers began to 

make the short jour- 
ney across to lower [taly. The rich soil of this country at- 
tracted those who were laboring for a bare living in Greece. 
The Achseans were especially active in developing this place, 
and t heir colonies, Sybaris and ( 'roton,soon became ext remely 
wealthy, so much so that "Sybarite" became a term used to 
designate a man who lived too luxuriously. Tarentum v 
colonized by political refugees from Sparta, and became rich 
and powerful l>y reason of i he adaptability of the country 
round aboul for stock-raising. On the western coa il of [taly 
were Cyme, founded by Chalcidians of the island of Eubcea, 
and its colony, the New-City (Naples). This was the north- 
ernmost extent of Greece in [taly, and 
i his area was soon called " Magna < rraecia," 
or Greal Greece. The [onian city of 
Phocaea in A. ia Minor senl out a colony 
to Massilia in Lower Gaul, which became 
the sea-port of the Greek trade with 
( laul and ( rermany. 
118. Syracuse and the Trade of Corinth. 
Of (lie ninny Greek colonies in Sicily, 
the greal city of Syracuse, founded front 
Corinth, was the mosi, important. It-; 
situation was excellent, with two fine harbors, so that il be- 
came a great factor commercially and politically in the 
history of Greece. K retained close and friendly relations 
with Corinth throughout its history as a free city. Through 




Silver 'i w\ h idb i bm 

( ii.iriot wii li I igure oi 
Victory above it, 



96 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Syracuse and the colonies in the Ionian Sea, Corinth con- 
trolled the trade to the west, for her two harbors on the 
Gulf of Corinth and the JEgesui Sea gave her a privileged 
position. 

On the northern coast of Africa the Greek city of Cyrene 
became wealthy through its trade with the native tribes of 
the coast and the desert, and by the- sale of a medicinal 
plant called silphium. 

119. How Chalcidice was Colonized. — The Euripus, the 
narrow sound between Eubcea and the Greek mainland, 
was at this period the chief route of travel and trade between 
the southern and northern districts on the east coast of 
Greece. The cities of Chalcis and Eretria situated on this 
sound, had naturally developed into important trading 
cities. In the extension of their trade to the north they 
found it wise to plant colonies on the peninsula which took 
the name Chalcidice, from the city of Chalcis. The greatest 
Eubcean colony in this district was Olynthus. Chalcis took 
an active part also in the colonization of Sicily. 

Inspired by the trade advantages in Chalcidice, the rising 
emporium of Corinth stepped boldly into 
this Eubcean sphere, and planted her 
colonies. The important city of Potidsea 
long retained a feeling of loyalty to Cor- 
inth as its mother-city. 

120. The Black Sea Colonized by Mile- 
tus. — To the brilliant Ionian merchant 
city of Miletus is chiefly due the credit of 
Silver Drachma, of colonizing the edge of the Black Sea. She 

Trapezus (Enlarged.) j g gaid ^ haye gent ^ j n ^ gQ co l omes# 
Bunches of grapes on a rpi i ec j-\ ii 

tab i,. Irapezus and bmope on the southern 

shore opened up to her wares the market 
of all the country lying back of them. They sent back 
fish, timber, and other products in return. Her colonies on 
the Tauric Chersonesus (modern Crimea) and the northern 
shore exchanged the raw products of southern Russia (skins, 
grain, and metals) for her manufactured goods. The Dorian 
city of Megara on the Isthmus of Corinth, then a flourishing 




THE SPREADING OF THE GREEKS 



97 



trading center, placed a colony at the mouth of the Bos- 
phorus leading into the Black Sea. This city, first called 
Byzantium, later Constantinople, was throughout antiquity 
and is to-day an important commercial and military strategic 
point. Her trade grew to great proportions in the export of 




Vase-painting of the Sixth Century b. c. 
King Arcesilas of Cyrene Oversees the Weighing and Storing of Silphium. 

fish, which appeared in great schools in the Bosphorus at 
certain seasons. Holding the key to the Black Sea, the situ- 
ation of Byzantium gave her control of the export of cereals 
from all this country to Greece. 

This northern trend of colonization was thus chiefly from 
Ionian sources such as Miletus and the Eubcean cities. A 
few of the most important colonies, including Potida3a and 
Byzantium, were Dorian. 

121. Legends Arise out of the Colonizing Movement.— 
The old Greek myth of Jason and his voyage in the ship 



98 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Argo in quest of the golden fleece reflects the awe and terror 
of the earliest traders sailing into the unknown regions 
of the Black Sea. Jason had been persuaded to make a 
vow to get the golden fleece, which hung from an oak tree 
in the grove o( Ares in Colchis, guarded day and night by a 
sleepless dragon. On the way, the Argonauts, the heroes of 
the Argo, had numerous adventures, and were compelled to 
fight with peoples living along the coast. They were forced 
to pass between rocks which could crash together and crush 
to pieces anything caught between them. The Argonauts 
firsl sent a doxv flying through. When they saw the rocks 
close too late to catch the dove, they dared to attempt the 
passage. Only the rudder of their ship was grazed as the 
rocks met behind them. The myth is well known which 
tells how Jason was helped by Medea, the daughter of the 
Colchian king. 'Aided by her magic cunning, he was able to 
yoke the brazen-hoofed, fire-breathing bulls and plough the 
fields of Ares. From the teeth of a dragon which he sowed 
upon the held, warriors sprang up to kill Jason; but this 
danger also he escaped. Medea gave him a potion which 
put to sleep the dragon watching the fleece. Then Jason 
took the golden fleece o'i the ram, and tied with Medea back 
to Greece. Such is the interesting legend which the imagi- 
nations of the old Greeks built up from the wondrous tales 
of their earliest traders in the Black Sea. 

122. Results of the Movement.— The most important re- 
sult of this 200 years of colonization was to widen the mean- 
ing of the term Hellas. It no longer meant only Greece itself, 
the .Egean islands, and coast of Asia Minor; it now included 
all the Greek cities which clung about the edge of the Medi- 
terranean and the Black Seas. In a sense, the world about 
the Mediterranean became a Greek world, except within the 
region controlled by the great Phoenician city of Carthage. 
As a second result we may note the spread of Greek culture 
and influence, especially toward the west. The emigrating 
Greeks took with them their spirit of enterprise and spread 
their ideas among the peoples of the west. The Romans, 
for example, came into contact with the Greeks of Cyme 



THE SPREADING OF THE GREEKS 99 

and Naples, and learned much from them. A third result 
was the bringing of the Greeks in Sicily into direct com- 
petition with Carthage. The Phoenicians here had amassed 
great wealth by building up an immense trade with the 
peoples of the western Mediterranean. Were they to be 
driven out of this field by the Greeks as their forefathers had 
been driven from the eastern Mediterranean? We shall 
see that years of bloody fighting were spent in trying to 
settle this struggle in the new world of the western Medi- 
terranean. 

The older cities of Greece shared, of course, in the finan- 
cial gain which came to the colonies from the rapid growth 
of trade in the land around them. Yet the time soon came 
when they could not vie in wealth with some of the new 
cities of the west, such as Sybaris and Syracuse. 

The whole Greek nation was developed and matured by 
the knowledge it gained from dealing with new peoples and 
seeing new countries. The difference between themselves, 
as Greeks, and the other nations with whom they came into 
contact, was sharply defined. They came to call all non- 
Greeks by the general term "barbarians," or foreigners, and 
the feeling that they themselves were members of separate 
and distinct tribes and cities began to decline, because the 
needs of trade and colonization brought the Greeks of many 
tribes together in distant lands. Thus the national impulse 
was strengthened by the knowledge that all the Greeks of 
that widening world had a common religion and common 
interests as opposed to outsiders. This sense of unity was 
needed to counteract that other tendency toward tribal 
jealousy and hatred which appears early among them as a 
result of the sharp physical divisions of their country. 



References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 108-11; Fling, Source Book. ch. 
2; Oman, History of Greece, ch. 9; Bury, History of Greece, ch. 2; Cun- 
ningham, Western Civilization, Vol. I, pp. 86-91; Shuckburgh, Greece, 
pp. 37-42. 

8 



100 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Story of the Greek Colony at Cyrene and the Oracle at 

Delphi.— Herodotus, Bk. IV, ch. 150-159. 

2. Fishing in the Black Sea. — Fling, Source Book, pp. 37-38. 

;3. The Colonies of Croton, Sybaris, and Tarentum. — Fling, 

Source Book, pp. 30-32; Bury, p. 103. 
4. Development of Ships in the Age of Colonization. — Bury, 

pp. 109-110. 



Washington, D. C. 



CHAPTER X 
DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 

123. General Development of City-States.— During the 
Epic Period and the time of expansion, the Hellenes were 
rapidly acquiring knowledge of how to govern themselves. 
As had been the case in the Orient, the political form which 
first developed was that of the small city-state. The voting 
was all done in the city, all the official buildings were there, 
the gods of the entire state had their temples there, and peo- 
ple who lived outside the city, even on the very borders of the 
state, were still regarded as citizens of the city. Thus, in 
the little state of Attica, even men living upon the sea-coast 
or back in the mountains were Athenians i e., members of 
the city of Athens. 

124. Effect Upon Greek History.— The peculiar form of 
the country, broken as it was into small valleys, furthered 
the growth and separate life of these small city-states, 
Therefore, they did not easily merge into one great empire 
as those in Babylonia and Egypt had done. This fact brings 
out the greatest peculiarity of the political life of the 
Greek people, and one which is noticeable throughout their 
history. They all spoke the same language and felt them- 
selves to be Hellenes, and in the face of any great danger 
they met it as one nation, but when the danger had passed, 
they usually fell to fighting desperately — one state against 
another. 

Yet the maintenance of the small city-state had its good 
results; and it was through the Greek city-states that 
democracy was first brought into the world. In them it was 
impossible for the kings to be very powerful or to oppress 
their subjects because the people were too close to their 
monarchs. In most of the states they began to curtail the 
royal powers, and in some the kings were driven out en- 
tirely, the power going into the hands of the citizens of the 

101 



102 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



state. As a result, the historian finds in Greece several 
forms of government existing at the same time in states 
which were close neighbors. Two of these city-states we 
shall study more particularly, because of their importance, 
and because of the marked contrast in their development. 
The first is Athens, in central Greece, the second is Sparta, 
in the Peloponnesus. 

125. Conditions Which Helped the Feeling of Unity. — 
The feeling of unity among the Hellenes was made stronger 
by the colonization movement, and still further developed 
by the spread of the Homeric poems. These became the 




Great Temple and Altar of Zeus at Olympia. 
A Restoration from Curtius und Adler, Olympia. 

national possession of all the Greek world. The epic stories 
of the gods and goddesses were known everywhere, and by 
this means the Greek. religion became a national one. As the 
religion became unified, certain temples and shrines conse- 
crated to local gods assumed a place as Panhellenic (that is, 
including all Greeks) meeting-places. They were, therefore, 
an expression of the unifying national tendency of Greek 
history. 

126. The Sacred Games Develop the National Feeling.— 
Another element which was powerful in forming the national 
Hellenic spirit lay in the religious games celebrated in honor 



DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 



103 



of the Greek gods. Of these the most famous were those held 
every four years at Olympia in Elis, on the banks of the Alphseus 
river. To the Olympic Games came the best athletes from all 
the cities of the Greek world. The festival lasted for five days, 




The Stadium Race. (210-Yard Dash.) 
From a Vase-painting. 

the first being devoted to the sacrifices and prayers to the gods, 
the others to the contests. The most important of the foot-races 
was the stadium race, or dash through the length of the sta- 
dium, which was about 
210 yards. In addition 
there were contests in 
wrestling and boxing ; 
horse races, of which the 
chariot race with four 
horses was the most ex- 
citing; and the pentath- 
lon, the five-fold contest. 
In this each athlete 
showed his prowess in 
five events, jumping, 
running, throwing the discus, hurling the spear, and wrestling. 
No one was allowed to enter these games unless he could 
qualify under certain eligibility rules. He must be of true 
Hellenic birth, with no disgraceful act reflecting on his name. 




Broad Jump with Weights. 



The Judge is Preparing to Measure the Distance. 
Vase-painting. 



104 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

He had to take an oath that he had trained ten months for 
the event. The only prize offered was a wreath of olive 
leaves which the victor wore, and a palm branch which he 
carried in his hands. But the interest in the games and the 
enthusiasm over a victory were so great that the winner 
often received a money prize and many public privileges 
when he retu ned to his native town. 

127. Pindar, the Poet of the Sacred Games.— Not only at 
Olympia were such festivals held. Every four years the 
Greeks met in the sacred precinct at Delphi to celebrate the 
Pythian games in honor of Apollo. As the years went by, 
these sacred places were built up with magnificent temples in 




Four Horse Chariot Race. 
Nearing a Turning-post. Vase-painting. 

marble, race-courses with marble seats for the spectators, 
gymnasiums, and other buildings of great beauty. The space 
between the buildings was filled with marble and bronze 
statues of the victors. During the period of the games, the 
temple grounds were gay and resplendent, packed with visi- 
tors from every quarter of the world where the Greeks were 
known. 

About 500 b. c. the sacred games were at the height of 
their importance and the kings and people of the free Greek 
cities engaged the ablest poets of the time to celebrate with 
choral songs the names of the winning contestants. The 
greatest of these poets was Pindar (522-452 b. a), from the 
Boeotian city of Thebes. We have still a number of his odes 



DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 105 

in praise of Pythian and Olympian victors. They show that 
Pindar was a master-poet, who knew how to write verses of 
ringing power. But the simple and weird Greek music, 
which went with them, is gone, as well as the setting and 
excitement of the scene and the victory. It is, therefore, 
almost impossible to give any idea of their beauty in an 
English translation. 

128. End of the Monarchy in Attica. — During the lime of 
the colonization movement the nobles in Attica grew very 
powerful. First they cut down the privileges and powers of 
the king in various ways (about 800-650 b. a). Then they 
limited his term of office to ten years. Finally, they 're- 
stricted him to one year of office, and left him only his re- 
ligious duties. 

This meant, of course, that the monarchy was ended. In 
the place of the old kingly office, there were now nine chief 
magistrates, called Archons, elected for the term of one 
year. The three most important were the Chief Archon, 
the War Archon (Polemarch), and the King Archon, who 
had general supervision of the state religion. The remain- 
ing six Archons had charge of the courts in the state, heard 
disputed cases, and gave decisions upon them. 

129. The Discontent of the Lower Classes.— All the offices 
in the state, and all the power, lay in the hands of the 
nobles. They had kept the lower classes of citizens out of 
the Assembly, while they and their followers passed the laws. 
The judicial system, too, was in the hands of the nobles. 
Punishments fell heavily upon the lower classes, while the 
nobles who transgressed the laws were let off easily. In 
addition to these causes for complaint the poorer classes in 
Attica were finding it harder to make a living than before. 
Prices were higher and wages about the same. Attica had 
not taken part in the colonization movement, and only a 
few of the noble families were engaged in trade with other 
countries. While these were becoming quite rich, the com- 
mon people were growing poorer. Since a man could be 
made a slave for a debt, or sell his children into slavery to 
cancel his debt, many of the commons had become slaves 



106 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

to the rich. These were the political and economic causes 
of the discontent of the lower classes. This discontent ex- 
pressed itself in a demand for new laws which would give 
the poorer classes greater rights in the state, and relieve 
them from the burden of their debts. 

130. Draco and the Writing of the Laws, 621 B. C— The 
first concession of the rich nobles was that the laws by which 
the people were to be judged and punished should be written 
down; and, accordingly, a noble named Draco was given 
power in the year 621 b. c. to codify them. Only a few frag- 
ments of his laws are known, but these show that the old 
severity of punishment was not lessened. People were still 
enslaved for debt. Draco's laws on the punishments for 
murder form the best part of his code. They helped to do 
away with the old " blood-feud," and to establish life on a 
higher and more settled plane. This codification is an im- 
portant step, because it shows that Attica was keeping up 
with the other Hellenic cities which were at about this time 
writing down their laws. 

131. Solon and His Social Laws, 594 B. C. — The code of 
Draco failed to correct the conditions which caused distress 
among the poorer people. As their situation grew worse, 
popular complaints became louder. At last the aristocrats 
were compelled to grant the poorer citizens greater rights in 
the state. Solon, a man of aristocratic descent, was ap- 
pointed sole legislator for a year, to change the laws, and to 
do away with the reasons for comp'aint. Parts of the poems 
of Solon in which he tells of his work for the state may still 
be read. 

His first task was to correct the economic troubles. This 
he did by passing the following general laws: 

1. All debts resting upon land were cancelled. 

2. All the Athenian citizens who were enslaved because of 
debts were freed. It was decreed that no one thereafter could 
be enslaved for debt by mortgaging his body to cover the loan. 

132. He Founds the Democracy. — Solon's greatest and 
most lasting work was the change he brought about in the 



DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 107 

government of Attica. He formed a new council of the state, 
the Council (Boule) of 400. This body was made up of 100 men 
from each of the four Attic tribes. Its duty was to prepare all 
business which was to come before the Assembly of the people. 

Even before Solon's time the people had been divided into 
four classes according to their yearly income. These four 
classes he retained, but he admitted the lowest class, the 
Thetes, to the Assembly. It is true that he did not allow 
the Thetes to run for office in the state, but they could help 
choose the magistrates from among the candidates of the 
upper classes. He allowed them also to sit on the Popular 
Juries which he established to hear trials and fix penalties in 
the courts. So the people thereafter had the right to choose, 
in the Popular Assembly, the men who should rule them, and 
through the Popular Juries, the power to punish magistrates 
for official wrong-doing. Hence Solon is to be remembered as 
the statesman who founded government by the people in Europe. 

133. The Tyranny of Pisistratus and His Son, 560-510 B. C. 
— The people did not at first know how to appreciate the 
rights thus given them, and the struggles in the state con- 
tinued. Three parties were formed: (1) the Plainsmen, rich 
landowners in the state; (2) the Shoremen, who were the 
traders living near the coast ; and (3) the Hillmen, the shep- 
herds and small farmers of the hills. About 560 b. c. a 
noble named Pisistratus took advantage of these commotions, 
and put himself at the head of the Hillmen. With their aid 
he obtained enough influence to rule the state, although he 
had no official position. The machinery of government 
established by Solon went on undisturbed, but Pisistratus 
held the real power. 

Such a political boss the Greeks called a "tyrant." The 
tyrant may be defined as a man who takes the supreme 
powers in the state without any legal right to them. His 
rule might be very beneficial to the state, as that of Pisis- 
tratus certainly was. 1 

The word "tyrant" has gained its present meaning through the 
cruelty of some of the Greek rulers who held the tyranny in their city- 
states. 



108 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

134. Advantages of the Tyranny.— Pisist rat us was rig- 
orous in his demands upon the people for money. The rev- 
enue which came in as taxes he spent in beautifying the 
city, especially the Acropolis, with public buildings. Upon 
his invitation poets and artists came to Athens, there to 
make public their verses, or to exhibit their skill as painters. 
In every possible way Pisistratus tried to push the trade of 
his native city. He established colonies on the Hellespont, 
and made Athens take a prominent position in the Delian 
League, a religious organization of all the Ionians, which had 
its center in the sacred island of Delos. Pisistratus died in 
527 b. c. His son retained the power for seventeen years, 
but was driven out of the state in 510 b. c. 

135. Clisthenes Completes the Democracy, 508 B. C— 
After two years of civil strife, a noble named Clisthenes, as 
leader of the popular party, introduced changes into the 
government, which forever put an end to the clan fights of 
the Hill, Shore, and Plain. He did this by breaking up the 
old four tribes of the state into ten. Each of the ten tribes 
took in a district from each of the three divisions of Hill, 
Shore, and Plain, and the men who had formerly been ene- 
mies, and of different parties, were forced to vote together 
in the same tribe. 

The Council was increased by Clisthenes from 400 to 500 
members, fifty from each of the ten tribes. Each tribe was 
to furnish its quota for the army of the state. A board of 
ten generals (Strategi) was elected annually, each Strate- 
gus having command of the troops of his tribe. 

In addition to these changes Clisthenes established the pe- 
culiar law of ostracism. Each year the Assembly was per- 
mitted, if it saw fit, to send one man from the state for ten 
years. To do this, 6,000 votes must be cast, and the man 
who received the highest number was ostracized. It was no 
disgrace to him. He did not lose his property as would 
have been the case had he been banished. At the end of the 
ten years the man ostracized might return and take up his 
duties as a citizen. This law was intended to enable the 
state to rid itself of one man, when two powerful politicians 



DEMOCRACY DEVELOPS IN ATTICA 109 

were dividing the votes between them, and bringing the s ate 
to civil war. Furthermore, the chances of a tyranny were 
lessened by this institution of ostracism. 

After the work of Clisthenes, the Attic democracy lacked 
only one condition to make it complete, namely, that the 
Thetes should be eligible to all the state offices. This step was 
taken in the fifth century, shortly after the Persian Wars. Then 
democracy, the rule of the people, became an accomplished fact. 

136. Development from Monarchy towards Democracy 
general throughout Greece, 800-600 B. C— In many other 
city-states of Greece the same conditions had existed as in 
Athens, and the same sort of development had been going on. 
Through the broadening influence of trade and colonization 
the nobles and the common people had awakened, the nobles 
to a sense of their power, the common people to a realization 
of their poverty and the cruelty of the laws of debt. In the 
years 800 to 700 b. c. the nobles had overthrown the rule of 
the kings in Corinth, in the Boeotian towns, in Eretria, and 
in Chalcis on the island of Eubcea, in Mitylene, in Ephesus, 
and in many other places. 

Precisely as in Athens, the rule of the nobles, which fol- 
lowed that of the kings, proved even more oppressive to the 
common people. As in Athens, discontent prevailed, and 
the result was the establishment of tyrannies, like that of 
Pisistratus, under men who led the popular movement 
against aristocratic rule. From 600 to 500 b. c. able tyrants 
held sway in Mitylene, Corinth, Sicyon, and other city-states. 

The course of the development at "Athens must, therefore, 
be regarded as typical of what was going on throughout 
Greece. But in no other city did the idea of popular gov- 
ernment appear so early or develop so far or in so effective a 
form. The glory of this work belongs to Athens above all 
cities, and to Solon above all Athenians. 

References for Outside Beading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 138-140; Fling, Source Book, pp. 
77-97; Plutarch, Life of Solon; Oman, History of Greece, ch. 10-12; 
Bury, History of Greece, ch. 4, 5; Botsford, History of the Orient and 
Greece, pp. 41-56, 70-77, 80^86. 



110 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Character of Solon. — Plutarch, Life of Solon. 

2. How Pisistratus Made Himself Tyrant. — Fling, Source Book, 

pp.86 94; l'lut arch, Life of Solon; Herodotus, Bk. I, ch. 59-64. 

3. The Story of Solon and Cfuesus. — (This reported meeting 

of Croesus and Solon cannot possibly be true, but the story 
is typically Greek.) Herodotus, Bk. I, ch. 29-33,86. 

4. Greek Athletic Contests. — Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, 

pp. 91 98. 

5. Story of Polyorates, Tyrant of Samos. — Herodotus, Bk. Ill, 

ch. 39-46, 120-125. 



CHAPTER XI 

DEVELOPMENT OF SPARTAN LIFE AND OF SPARTAN 
LEADERSHIP IN THE PELOPONNESUS 

137. The City-State of Sparta.— Since th \ time of the 
migration of the Dorians from northern Greece into the 
Peloponnesus, the valley of the Eurotas river and the 
Greeks who had originally lived there were ruled by their 
Dorian conquerors. The entire district, called Laconia, or 
Lacedaemon, was not as large as the state of Delaware. Its 
capital was Sparta, situated upon the Eurotas about 30 miles 
north from the sea. 

The country is very easily defended, as it is bounded upon 
both sides by masses of rough mountains, the passes of 
which can be held by a small body of troops. Yet, in a land 
so easily defended, a military si ale developed, strongly or- 
ganized for defense. The strict military discipline of Sparta, 
which will be described later, was needed in order to keep 
the ruling class in power over its subjects. 

138. Classes in Sparta: the Helots.— When we first hear of 
the Spartans, we find the inhabitants divided into three 
classes, the Spartans, the Periceci, and the Helots. 

The Helots form the lowest class. They tilled the soil of 
their Dorian masters, and turned over to them a certain 
amount of the produce. Yet they were not absolute slaves, 
because they could not be sold by their masters, nor could 
they be released from bondage, being bound to the soil which 
they cultivated. 

The readiness of the Helots to revolt shows that their con- 
dition must have been very hard. Yearly the state officials 
declared war upon them, so that a Helot might be killed 
whenever he seemed dangerous. A body of secret police, 
made up of young Spartans, went about the country, spied 
upon the Helots, and killed those who showed signs of dis- 

111 



112 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

content. The Spartan state was never free from the danger 
of a terrible revolt from this oppressed class. 

139. The Perioeci. —This was a much more privileged class 
than the Helots. The name itself means "those dwell- 
ing round about." It included the tradesmen, sailors, and 

farmers who conducted the business necessary to the sup- 
port of the State. The PericeCl COU d own property, and, in- 
deed, often become wealthy; but they did not have civil 
rights; that is, they could not vote in state affairs, or hold 
state offices. They were used by the Spartans as heavy- 
armed soldiers, and never betrayed the trust which the state 
put in them. On the whole, they seem to have been eon- 
tent with their lot. 

140. The Spartans.— These were the conquerors who held 
in subjection ihe Helots and Periceci. They alone had 
citizen rights. Supported by the Helots and Perioeci, they 

had QOthing to do hut attend to the needs of the state, ami 
their duty was to defend it from enemies without and within. 
The numbers of the full-blooded Spartans probably never 
rail far beyond 10,000 men. The Helots and IYr'ueci were 
tar more numerous, so that, it was necessary for the Spartans 
to be ever on the watch. On this account, their state sys- 
tem became one in which usefulness in war, and ability to 
fight, was the greatest demand placed upon its citizens. To 
attain this vnd, the state trained its men from childhood to 

the grave. 

141. Spartan Training.— Our chief authority on the Spar- 
tans is Plutarch, a Greek writer who lived about 100 A. D. 
He relates, in his Life of Lycurgus, that every male child 
born in a Spartan family was examined by (he old men of 
the state. If it was sick or deformed, it was hurled to its 
death in a dee]) cavern in the mountains. If it was healthy 
and Strong, (he child was alloted a share of land for its 
support. At seven years of age (he state officers took in 
hand i(s education. 

142. The Education of a Spartan Boy. -Spartan schooling 
consisted of athletic and military exercises, the singing o{ 
martial songs, and the recitation of warlike verses. In order 



SPARTAN LEADERSHIP IN THE PELOPONNESUS 113 

to give boys the ability to judge men and their actions, they 
were asked such questions as these: " Who Is the best man 
in the city?" " What do you think of such an action?" 
The answers were to be brief and pithy, and the reasons for 
the answer stated. A foolish answer was punished, a good 
one praised. From the well-known brevity thus developed 
in the Spartans we gel the phrase, a " Laconic saying." 

In order to harden their bodies, the boys wore little cloth- 
ing, and were forced to go around bare-footed. They slept 
in companies on beds which they themselves made of reeds 
gathered upon the banks of the Eurotas. 

143. Development of the Spartan Spirit. Spartan boys 
were trained by the young men, who sometimes bade them 

forage for food. The boys then roamed about and stole 

whatever they could take without detection. If caught, they 

were severely punished. To illustrate their pride and 
bravery, Plutarch tells, in the Life of Lycurgm, the; doubtful 
story of a boy who had stolen a young fox and hidden it 
under his tunic. Rather than let this be known he allowed 
the fox to tear out his bowels with its teeth and claws. 
Plutarch believes this story, "for," he says, "I, myself, 
have seen several of the youths endure whipping to death 
at the foot of the altar of Artemis." This last is undoubt- 
edly a true statement. It clearly shows thai spirit in 
enduring pain which is still called "Spartan fortitude." 

144. Education of Spartan Girls.— In order to produce a 
healthy race, the Spartans rightly thought that their women 
must be physically strong. So the Spartan girls were given 
the same kind of training as the boys. Their physical train- 
ing consisted of gymnastic exercises, contests in running, 
wrestling, and throwing the javelin and the discus. At cer- 
tain festivals they dancsd and sang it) the presence of* the 
boys and young men At these times they sang praises of 
the brave men among the citizens, and made mocking re- 
marks about those who were bad or cowardly. 

In other parts of Greece women were kept in seclusion. 

Men like Plutarch, the Boeotian, and Plato, the Athenian 

philosopher, who lived about 400 B. C, had only words of 



I II THE HISTORY, OF GREECE 

praise for the oourage and the oharaoter of Sparta's lovely 
women. The spirit produced in them by their training was 
a noble one. A Spartan mother was told thai she had lost 
five sous in a oertain battle. ' That is not what I wish to 
know," she said. ' Did we win the battle? Then let us 

give t hanks to the ^ods." 

L45. Simplicity of Spartan Living. Tlie Spartan laws did 
not allow a eiti/.en to go into business life. In order to 
keep down the desire to accumulate wealth, the Spartans 

ooined iron money only. This tended to limit, trade be- 
tween Sparta and the other cities of Greece. 'Thus the 
Spartans kept then- customs from being ohanged by imita- 
tion of ill ways of the oth r Greeks. 

Spartan houses were roughly built, one o( tin 1 laws pro- 
viding that the ceilings should he cut out with no other tool 
than an a\e, and the doors with the saw alone. This made 

it impossible to develop a taste lor finely paneled oeilings 

and doors neat ly carved. 

14G. The Public Mess. The chief means of keeping the 
Spartans from indulging in luxurious living was the institu- 
tion o( the public mess, called the "Pluditia." On a lew 
State occasions the men Were allowed to eat at home, but 
usually they ate in common, old men and young men to- 
gether. The laws forced each Spartan to supply for the 

genera] mess a certain amount oi food, Consisting <)( such 

simple things as figs, cheese, grain, ami wine. In addition 

to this :i small sum <^ money was required from each man for 

the purchase o'i meats. The staple \oo<\ was a blaok and 

heavy soup, which other ({reeks than the Spartans did not 

seem to find very palatable. 

They ate at rough tables in groups of fifteen. In order to 
heighten the feeling o\ unity in each group, a new member 

mi any table could only be admitted by unanimous vote o( 

(he group. 

MY. Tho Spartan in War. The stern and rigid training 

jusl described kepi the military power of the state in a con- 
tinuous state ^\ high efficiency. The Spartan citizens 
formed t ho nucleus o( this fighting machine. A.s hoplites 



SPARTAN LEADERSHIP IN THE PELOPONNESUS I I - r , 




A Grebb Hoplith 
v.-i te paint ing 



(heavy armed foot-soldiers), they fought with fche spear and 
suonl as weapons. Their protective armor consisted of a 
helmet, breast-plate of leather, and metal greaves, or shin 

guards, and a. shield. 

When the Spartans were led forth 
to war by one of their kings, the 
strictness <>f their discipline was 
somewhat relaxed, and they were 
better U^\ than when leading their 
barrack-life at home. Just before a 
battle they prepared themselves al- 
most as if Tor a festival. They 
combed their long hair carefully, set 
garlands upon their heads, and ad- 
vanced wil h cheerful faces to the fight. 
For several hundred years they had 
the reputation of being the greatest 
warriors among the Hellenic people. 

148. The Double Kingship. The Spartan system of gov- 
ernment shows clearly the three elements which we have seen 
in the Homeric state; the Kingship, Council, and As- 
sembly. This form of the Homeric limited monarchy 
was retained at Sparta with little change until the 
Greek states were conquered by Rome in the second 
century b. c. 

The royal power was even more limited than in Homeric 

limes; for instead of one king, Sparta had two. It i not 
possible to explain how this divided power arose. The king- 
ships were hereditary in two royal families. Like the 
Homeric kings, the kings of Sparta were commanders-in-chief 
of i he state forces. < )nce in I he held i hey had absolute power 
ol* life and death over i heir subjects; but in time of peace 
(heir powers were greatly limited. Like the Homeric kings, 
they were the high-priests, and directed the solemn sacrifices 

Of the stale. Bui the judicial power held l>y the Homeric 

kings had been taken away from them, excepting in matters 
of family relations, such as the adoption of children, and the 
marrying of heiresses. 
9 



I 10 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

149. The Senate. This was :i legislative body composed 

of ;>o life-long members including the two kings, The re- 
maining 28 were chosen by the Spartans Prom those over 
f>i) years of age. For this reason ihc body was called the 
"Gerousia," or Council of Elders. This body disoussed all 
important matters of stale, and prepared new Laws, [f the 
popular assembly passed a law not io the stale's advantage, 
t he ( lerousia might annul it. 

150. The Assembly. This provision greatly weakened the 
power of the popular assembly, called the Apella. This 
assembly oonsisted of all the Spartans over ;>0 years of age. 
They me1 each month and voted by acclamation upon mat- 
ters set before them by the officials called ESphors. They 
approved the decision o\' the ESphors and Gerousia in ques- 
tions of peace and war, and elected their magistrates, the 
members of t he Gerousia, and t he five Ephors. In case there 

Were tWO claimants It) one of the kingships, they decided the 

dispute. As in the Homeric Agora, the citizens had nol the 

right iA' debate. The Apella forms the democratic element 

of the Spartan system, the Gerousia the aristocratic. It is 
apparenl that the direct influence of the Apella was not great. 

151. The Ephors or Overseers. Indirectly, however, the 
Spartan folk had the controlling voice in state affairs. This 
they gained through the ECphorate, ;i separate board o{ five 
"overseers" which was elected for a year's term by the 

\pella. With the introduction o{ this hoard, the likeness 
ceases between the Homeric government and its Spartan 

survival, [n the general change from monarchy through aris- 
tocracy to democracy, which was going on throughout Greece 
from about 800 to 500 b. c, the Spartan citizens were in con- 
stant danger from the Helots. For this reason they did not 

dare to pass through any form o\' revolution such as over- 
threw the kings in other states. Hence the Spartan govern- 
ment always remained conservative. The kings were kept, 
hut many oi their duties were taken over by this new hoard 
<)\ overseers, which represented the people. 

The Ephors were empowered to summon the Gerousia and 
the Apella, and to direct, their meetings. They could call 






SPARTAN LEADERSHIP IN THE PELOPONNESUS 117 

the kings bo account before them .* i r m I punish them for mis- 
deeds. The education of the Spartan youth was under their 
guidance. They took oversomeof the old judicial powersof i he 
kings and became the highest court in thestate. In fact, they 
were well named when called the "overseers of Restate." 1 

152. Dependence of the Spartan upon the State. The 
organization of the Spartan government was determined by 
the necessity that each member should at all limes be ready 
to fi^lii- and die for the state. From the cradle to the grave 
the state had absolute sway over the Individual, [t deter- 
mined Ms manner of living, and decided the time at which 
he should marry. In many other ways it limited his free- 
dom. So completely was the single man sunk in the idea of 
the state, that the dead Spartan did not even have his name 

inscribed upon a tombstone, unless he died on I he field of 

led, lie. In death as in life he was a unit in the Spartan 
itate, rather than a separate person. 

153. Results of the System. The result of this was a 
military spirit which ably fulfilled its mission. The Spartan 
troops were for ceniuries the best, in Greece, and the power 
of Sparta was feared and respected abroad. 

In its singleness of aim, and the simplicity of the life it 
taught, the Spartan state was a splendid organization. But 
it did not allow for the development of each man's individ- 
ual tendencies and talents. Everyone must f>e a soldier, 
whether he liked it, or not; and thus the life was one-sided. 
Because of her organization, Sparta did not produce great 
painters, great sculptors, deep thinkers in philosophy and 

science fields in which the rest, of Greece has done so much 
for the world. 

154. Expansion of Sparta. The dermoid for new land to 
allot, to her citizens forced Sparta into wars with her western 

1 The old Greek historians referred the founding of the Spartan 
system of government to a single law-giver named Lycurgus. I' in 
not probable that these institutions were the work of a single man or 
a single time. The name of Lycurgus in not mentioned in <li<- earliest 
Spartan songs, ko that there is much doubt that such ;t law-giver lived 
at all. 



IS 



TUN IIISTOKY OF GREECE 



neighbor, Messene. The 6rs1 of these occurred some- 
time aboul 750 b, c, and elided with the defeat of the 
Messenians. They revolted in the next century (about 
650 b, c.)j but, after a hard struggle, were entirely 
subjugated, and most of the Messenians were made 
Helots. It is in (his war thai Tyrtseus, the Spartan 
general, wrote his spirited songs of war. Excepting for 
those fragmentary poems, tittle historical information 
aboul these struggles has come down to us, though many 
legends are told illustrating the desperate courage shown 
upon bol h sides. 

M'oni the time of the Later Messenian War, trouble 
arose between Sparta and the old state of Argos, lying 
north of Laconia along the <Egean coast. Although the Ar- 
gives had developed a considerable power in the seventh 
century, under the leadership of their king Pheidon, the 
superiority of Spartan tactics and discipline finally proved 

victorious. The Axgive 
state was crippled, but 
nol entirely destroyed. 
155. The Pelopoiinesian 
League. By the year 
500 b, c, all the Pelopon- 
nesian city-s ates, except- 
ing Argos and the cities 
of Atchsea, were in a mili- 
tary League, in which the 
acknowledged Leader was 
Sparta. The Peloponne- 
sian League, as it was 
called, was an alliance in 

which the members were 
bound to supply troops and money for any war wagedin 
their common interest. The Spartan kings were command- 
ers-in-chief o\ the troops o\' the League, and representatives 

from all the states met in Sparta to decide questions of peace 
and war. This organization vastly increased Sparta's in- 
fluence. 






v ve, . „'... ,\ , 








1 \ ri \ v 0V nil l'ri >M'i'\ mm v\ 1 r vt, i i . 

500 b. c, 



SPARTAN LEADERSHIP IN THE PELOPONNESUS L19 

References for Outside Beading 

Plutarch, Life of Lycurgus; Xenophon, Polity of the Lacedaemonians, 
Seignobos, A muni Civilization, oh. II; Bury, History of Greece. <'h. 3: 
Oman, History of Greece, oh. 7, s; Fling, Source Book of Greek History. 
pp. . r » i 77; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp, 78 84. 

Topics for Orui or Written Report 

1. Tyrtjdus. Capps, Homer to Theocritus, pp. L45-0; Bury, pp. 

i -/ 8j Fling, pp. 56 58. 

2. What l>n> Plutarch Think ok the Spartan Character? 

I 'lutarch, Life of Lycurgus 
;{. The Spartans at Tiikumokyk/i-:. i/<rn<iniu;, I'.k. vn, ch. 

201 233. 
i Rights op the Spartan Kings. Herodotus, Bk. VI, oh. 58 60j 

tin Flings Source Book, im>. <»:'> 66). 
5. An Early Spartan Battle With the Argitbs. Herodotus, 

I'.k I., oh. 82. 



CHAPTER XII 

THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA THREATENS TO 
DESTROY GREEK CIVILIZATION 

156. The Importance of the .flSolian and Ionian Cities. —The 
Hellenes who occupied the coast of Asia Minor rapidly 
learned what the Lydians and other people o( Asia Minor 
could give them of the knowledge of Egypt and Babylonia. 
Their cities grew so rapidly in size and in wealth, that the 
principal cities o( the mother-land, Corinth, Eretria, Argos, 
Sparta, and Athens, could not compare with them. From 
()">o to 500 b. c, we must regard Miletus, Ephesus, Mitylene, 
and other cities in Ionia as the leaders of Greece in culture 
and power. 

The trade of these cities extended from the eastern (aid of 
the Black Sea to the most western Greek city, from Tra- 
pezus to Massilia in Gaul. They shipped the goods received 
from these regions to distant ports. Their trade with 
the inland cities o'i Asia Minor was quite active and 
profitable. As we have seen, Miletus was the greatest 
trading center because of the number of her colonies on 
the Pontus. 

157. JEolian-Ionian Poetry. —The wealth which the .Eo- 
iians and Eonians collected gave them time to devote to the 
pleasures which a knowledge of art and literature gives to 
life. Inspired by contact with the higher development of 
Egypt and Babylon, they produced works in literature 
which, in tone and point of view, were absolutely unlike 
anything produced by the Oriental civilization. The great- 
est o( these works were the epic poems, the Iliad and the 
Odyssey. Vov these alone the Hellenes of Asia Minor will 
be remembered so long as men read and enjoy the better 
forms of literature. 

120 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 121 

About 700 n. c. the ability to compose the long epic laics 
of heroes and their deeds was lost. The poets then began 
to write lyric poetry. Lyrics are poems composed as songs, 
to be recited to the accompaniment of a lyre, a kind of harp. 
They are always short, and (UIUt in character from epic 
poems in giving the deepest emotions and thoughts of the 

pod himself. The greatesl of the lyric poets of the ^Eolian- 

lonian school was a woman named Sappho, who lived in 

Mitylene in 000 b. c. Only a few of her love-songs still 
survive, bul these are exquisite in every line, and justify 

the high praise bestowed upon her by ancient writers, who 
had a great many more of her poems to read. The .Kolic 
Greek is a dialect, wonderfully soft and liquid in its sound. 
Sappho was able to take advantage of this, and to pul her 
verses together so that they have a musical quality attained 
by very few poets. 

The poet AlcaeUS lived at the; same time in Mitylene, and 
was a friend of Sappho, whom Ik; thus addresses: " Chaste 
Sappho, violet-tressed, softly-smiling." He threw himself 

into the political struggles of his native city againsl the 
tyrant who controlled it. The best of the fragments of his 
poetry which we have is one upon the " Ship of State," 
which has been imitated by many poets since his day. 

Out of this period came the fables of /Esop, which .'ire so 
well known even to-day. About /Esop himself we know 
very little. The tradition tells us that he was a crippled 

Slave who lived in Samos about, 550 B. C. The fables are 

stories told, probably for centuries, by the people of Asia, 
and they had come to the Greeks of Asia .Minor through 
their contact wit h t he Orient . 

158. The Ionian Philosophers. — Not only did the [onians 
produce greal poetry and ^ive to the world new literary 
forms and modes of expression, but from 000 to 450 n. C, 
there arose among them a group of thinkers who may be 
said to have been the founders of scientific study. The 

Egyptians and Babylonians had studied astronomy, geome- 
try, and arithmetic, but only for their practical results or in 
their relation to religion. The Ionian thinkers, however, 



1 22 



THE 1USTOUY <>i<' GREECE 



tried to find out the truth about the meaning and causes of 
natural phenomena, merely for the sake of knowing the truth. 
These philosophers believed that all things in the universe 
sprang from one single material; and then t hey asked " What, 
is this material?" Thales o( Miletus (about 600 b. c.) said 
that everything was developed out of water. Eeraclitus of 
Ephesus (about. 500 b. c.) believed that this original element 
was fire. From the teachings of Anaxagoras, who lived about 
l">o b, c, we can see how rapidly they advanced in knowledge 
of the earth and its surroundings. He taught thai the earth 
was round) that the moon had mountains and valleys like 
the earth and was inhabited by living beings; that the sun 

and stars were glowing, fiery 
masses, bu1 that the moon re- 
ceived its light from the sun. 
'Thus the Ionian philosophers 

thoughl and disputed about the 
nature of the universe. Many (>{ 
their ideas were wrong, but 

through these ideas and all this 

discussion, they learned to think 

freely and without fear. The world 

learned with them and from them. 
159. Cyrus and the Ionian 
Greeks. When the Lydian king, 
Croesus (see §88), conquered the 
Greek cities of Asia Minor, their 
accustomed life continued almost 
without a change. Croesus was 
impressed by the art and litera- 
ture of the Greeks, favored them 

Fragments of a Column Dedicated in many ways, and sent gifts to 
bi Croesus in phh rEMPUB of i\ • i \ r i 1 n 1 

Irtbmis at Ephesus, t,UMr 8 reat ^mples at kphesus 

and at Delphi. 

When Cyrus the Great conquered Croesus, the Greek cities 

of Asia Minor also fell under his rule. Cyrus had tried to 

induce them to help him to conquer Croesus, but they refused. 

Now they tried to get from him favorable terms o( alliance. 




^ 







THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA L23 
When their ambassadors came to Cyrus, Be told them the 

following pointed story : 

A certain piper, observing some fishes sporting in the sen, be- 
gan to play to \ hem, hoping I hal I hey would, of t heir own accord, 
conic ouf upon the shore. Disappointed in this hope he threw 
<>ut his nets, caught ;•, great number, and brought them to land. 
Seeing them hup about, he said. You may be quiet, now, 

since you refused to come out to inc when I played to you." 

(Herodotus, I, Ml). 

160. Westward Expansion under Darius. When Darius 
became the Persian king in 521 b. c, the Persian Empire 
was, in extent of territory, in organization, and in (lie size 
and equipment of its armies, the greatest power which the 
world had yet seen. Darius wished to keep up the glorious 
ii'covd of his predecessors and add more territory to his 
greal empire. Since Egypt had been conquered, the next 
Conquest which seemed to beckon him was that of the 
country across the Hellespont, culled Thrace. This land 
was richly productive of grain, and had silver and gold, all 
of which the Persians desired. In 512 is. c. Darius con- 
quered Thrace as far west as the Strymon river, and added 
it, in the form of ;t satrapy, to the Persian Empire. 

This brought the mighty Persian Empire and the numer- 
ous little city-states of the Greeks face to face. The Greeks 
knew that the time had come when they must, fight for their 
liberty. The struggle which resulted, culled the Persian 

Wars, was one of the momentous crises in the world's his- 
tory. Persia had completely adopted the Oriental culture. 
She represented the fullest possible growth of the ancient 
civilization of Egypt and Babylon. Hooted deeply in the 
traditions of the past, unable to put forth new branches, the 
Persian civilization was incapable of producing new fruits, 
like .'in old tree that has lost its power- to bear. 

The Hellenes, on the other h.'l.lld, Were ;i people fresh ,'ttld 

youthful. They had already shown great ability. They 
were giving to the world new ideas of literature and art. 
In government, as in the field of thought, the right of the 
individual to express himself, by his vote or by his writing, 



124 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

was being acknowledged. If the Persians should conquer 
the Hellenes, would they not impose upon western Europe 
the old Oriental view of life? Would they not stop this 
free growth, which promised so much for the world's ad- 
vance 1 ? 

161. Importance of the Struggle. — When the Persians and 
the Greeks once started to fight, it was a war which could 
end only in the subjection of one type of civilization, the 
western or the eastern, to the other. The struggle 4 was not 
continuous, but broke out again and again, and lasted about 
one hundred and fifty years — until a young Macedonian 
hero, Alexander the Great, led the Hellenic forces into 
western Asia (334 b. c), overthrew the Persian Empire, 
and carried the western thought and energy of the Hellenes 
over all the Persian domain, to the cities of Asia Minor and 
Egypt, thence to Babylonia and over the mountains of 
Persia to the distant banks of the Indus River. 

162. Expedition of Darius Against Athens.— In the year 
500 b. c, the Ionian Greeks attempted to break away from 
the rule of the Great King of Persia, and regain their former 
freedom. Athens sent twenty ships and a small body of 
troops to their aid. After six years of fighting, Miletus, 
the heart and center of the revolt, was retaken by the Per- 
sians (494 b. a), and the rebellious city destroyed. It never 
again reached the position of wealth and influence which it 
held before this event. 

The desire of Darius to conquer the Greek peninsula was 
now strengthened by the feeling that, unless he did so, the 
Greeks of Asia Minor would continue to revolt and hope for 
aid from their countrymen in Europe. The dignity of the 
Persian Empire also demanded that Athens should be pun- 
ished for her boldness in sending troops to aid the Ionians. 
Accordingly, in 100 b. C, Darius sent a small body of troops, 
numbering about 30,000 men, against Athens. They sailed 
in transport ships directly from Asia Minor across the iEgean 
Sea. 

163. The Athenian Forces.— The Persian troops landed 
upon the plain of Marathon in northern Attica. The Spar- 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 125 

tans did not send aid to Athens in time, and the 
Athenian troops, numbering about 10,000 men, were 
forced to meet the Persians with the assistance of only 
a few soldiers which the neighboring town of Plata3a 
could scud. 

The great body of the Athenian army was composed of 
heavy-armed foot-soldiers, called "hoplites." They were 
chosen only from the three highest classes of Athenian citi- 
zens, since the Thetes, or lowest class, could not serve. The 
hoplite fought with a long lance, which had a sharp iron head 
fitted into a wooden shaft, and a short, heavy sword worn 
upon his left side. He wore no stockings or trousers, but 
protected the front of his legs by shin guards and thigh 
guards. These were made of metal, padded upon the inside, 
and were strapped around the legs. The breast-plate 
which covered his chest and back was usually made 
of leather, strongly re-enforced with metal plates. It 
buckled or laced in front. The remaining protective 
armor consisted of a helmet of bronze and a large 
shield. The helmet had cheek-pieces, which could be 
removed, and sometimes a metal strip to guard the 
nose. 

164. The Battle of Marathon, 490 B. C— The historian 
Herodotus 1 tells us how the Athenian hoplite force was drawn 
up on the day of the battle by their leading general, Miltia- 
des, in three divisions, left, center, and right. He says that 
from tht^ir position facing the sea the Athenians ran down- 
hill, for the distance of a mile, and drove the Persians back 
by the fury of their onslaught. Common sense tells 
us that he has exaggerated the distance they ran, else 
they would have been exhausted before they met the 
Persians. 

^he story of the Persian Wars was written by a Greek named Herodo- 
tus, between 430 and 420 b. c. Fortunately we have his history in 
its entirety. He writes in a simple and interesting fashion, and loves 
to tell stories as he goes along, such as the one quoted above about Cyrus 
the Great. 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 127 

Herodotus pays this tribute to the Athenian courage: 
They were the first Greeks that I know of who ran to attack 
an enemy. They were the first also who endured the sight of 
the Median [Persian] dress and the men who wore it. For up 
to that time even the name of the Medes was, to the Hellenes, a 
thing fearful to hear. 

This, too, is an exaggeration on the part of Herodotus, but 
it shows how the reputation of the Athenians rose because 
of the victory which they won over the army of Persia upon 
that day. The battle of Marathon was to the Persians, in 
view of their limitless resources, but a skirmish; but its 
moral effect upon the Greeks was great, since they had seen 
how fearlessly the Athenians attacked a superior force of 
the dreaded Persians. 

165. Themistocles and the Making of the Navy.— The 
generals of Darius sailed back to Asia with their troops. 
Both the Greeks and the Persians understood that the honor 
of Persia now demanded the conquest of Greece. They 
knew also that the next expedition would be upon a far 
greater scale. Because of a revolt in Egypt the Persians 
were not ready to move until 481 b. c, after Darius had 
died, and his son Xerxes had become the Great King. 

At this crisis in Greek history a statesman of genius arose, 
one able to foresee impending dangers long before other men, 
able to plan the right means of rescue, able to make other 
men follow out his ideas. This was Themistocles of Athens. 
For years he tried to impress upon the Athenians the neces- 
sity of building a great navy. He saw that Athens could 
only thus, in the end, beat back the Persian attack; and 
only as a naval power might she hope to compete success- 
fully for the trade by sea which alone could make the city 
rich and great. 

Since the hoplite force could not safely be reduced, the 
plan of Themistocles made it necessary to make use of the 
fourth class of citizens, the Thetes, as rowers on the ship- 
benches. If they were used in the protection of the state, 
they must also have the right to hold the offices in the state. 
Their political privileges would have to be extended, a pro- 



128 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 




Piece of Pottery Found at Athens 

with the Name and Deme of 

Themistocles upon it. 

It is a Vote Cast for his Ostracism. 



gram to which the aristocrats were naturally opposed. 
Themistocles made use of the vote of ostracism against his 
leading opponents, until one by one they were sent out of 

the state. The last of these 
to go was the noble Aristides, 
whose ostracism was voted in 
the year 482 b. c. He and the 
others who were ostracized 
were allowed to return and 
fight for their fatherland two 
years later. 

166. The Athenian Fleet.— 
The Athenians then went energetically about the construction 
of their fleet. Before the threatened invasion came they had 
fully 180 battleships ready for service. These ships were pro- 
pelled by oarsmen who rowed in groups of three. The three 
seats of each group were arranged obliquely, the inner ones a 
little in advance and a little higher up than the outer. For this 
reason the ships were 
called triremes, or " three- 
bankers.' ' The Greek 
warships were long and 
narrow, ranging from 100 
to 120 feet in length, by 
15 to 17 in width. Their 
sides rose only a little 
way above the water, not 
more than 8 or 10 feet. 
The crew usually num- 
bered 200 men, including 
174 rowers, about a dozen 
hoplites, a few archers, 
and the ship's officers. 
The fighting force of 
the Athenian navy, therefore, was about 36,000 men. 
The maneuvering of the ships demanded great skill and 
practice upon the part of the rowers. The method of dis- 
abling an enemy's ship was to ram it directly in the side 




Supposed Arrangememt of Rowers on a 
Trireme. 

Modem Model. 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 129 

with the sharp edge of the prow. When struck in this man- 
ner a ship would sink in a few minutes. A ship could also be 
disabled by running close along her side and shattering the 
oars. She would then be as crippled as a bird with a broken 
wing. 

167. Xerxes' Plan of Campaign.— The "Great King," Xer- 
xes, made the most careful and complete preparations for the 
subjection of Greece. Since the plan of sending a small 
body of troops straight across the ^Egean had failed in the 
attack of 490 b. c, Xerxes decided to move to the attack 
with a great land force along the coast of Thrace, aided by 
a fleet which had to sail parallel to it, and he went to the trou- 
ble of sending engineers and laborers to cut a canal for his 
ships behind the dangerous headland of Mt. Athos. 

At the time when Xerxes moved against the motherland, 
the Carthaginians agreed to attack the Greek cities on the 
island of Sicily. Carthage was a Pheenican colony, Sem- 
itic in its religion and life. In the West it represented what 
Persia represented in the East, the old culture of western 
Asia. So these two greatest powers of the world at that 
time were moving in from east and west to crush the bud- 
ding life of Greece between them. This fact is what gives 
the battles which ensued their great importance in 
history. 

168. The Congress at the Isthmus of Corinth.— The army 
of Xerxes was a vast one, even according to our modern 
ideas. A low estimate places the number of his land troops 
at 100,000 men, of his ships at not less than 500. 1 The 
Greeks heard with terror of these preparations. Represen- 
tatives from most of the city-states met on the Isthmus of 
Corinth in 481 b. c. to settle a plan of defence. They agreed 
to put an end to all their wars with each other. Further- 
more, they agreed that, if any state did not join in the 
national war against Persia, they would make war upon it 

1 Herodotus (VII, 60) gives the number of the land forces at 1,700,000 
men, of the triremes (VII, 89) at 1207. Such a force, ,n leasl of land 
troops, is manifestly impossible. It could not possibly be fed, nor 
even the half of that number. 



130 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



and dedicate one tenth of the booty from that state to 
the god Apollo at Delphi. 

This meeting is one instance which shows that when the 
Greeks were forced by some great danger they could combine 
and act as one nation. Then the feeling that they were 
of one Hellenic blood, that same feeling which manifested 
itself in the sacred games, became powerful. Unluckily for 
Greece, however, the feeling of separation into city-states 
was stronger than this. 

169. The Great Battle at Salamis, 480 B. C— After an he- 
roic attempt at Thermopylae to keep back the host of the 
invaders, the Persian forces moved by land and sea down 
upon Attica. In their despair the Athenians sent messen- 
gers to the oracle at Delphi for the advice of the god. The 




Map op the Battle-field of Salami* 



answer of the oracle was that they were to desert the city 
and take protection within their "wooden walls." Many 
thought that this meant that they must move out on their 
ships into the west. But Themistocles told them that the 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 131 

god intended them to fight within their " wooden walls/' and 
meet the enemy bravely upon the sea. Accordingly, the 
fighting men and rowers went on board the fleet and Athens 
was abandoned to destruction at the hands of the Persians. 

The allied troops of the Hellenic cities were rapidly losing 
heart, but Themistocles kept up their failing courage. By a 
trick he forced the fleet of the Greek allies to meet the Per- 
sians in the narrow strait which separates the island of 
Salamis from Attica. The situation chosen by Themistocles 
favored the Hellenic fleet, for the greater number of the Per- 
sian ships was of no advantage to Xerxes, since only a por- 
tion of them could be brought into the narrow passage at one 
time. For twelve hours the Persians kept up the battle, 
fighting under the eyes of the Great King, with great brav- 
ery. Finally, their fleet was almost destroyed, and Xerxes 
sailed back to Asia Minor with its shattered remnants. 

At about the same time — the Greek historians say upon 
the same day — the Carthaginian troops in Sicily were de- 
feated by the troops of the Greek cities at the battle of 
Himera. The Hellenes of Sicily were led by Gelo, the 
tyrant of Syracuse. The Persian land force in Greece was 
defeated in the next year at the battle of Platsea in Boeotia, 
and the fleet suffered another great defeat off Mt. Mycale in 
Asia Minor. 

170. Results of the Victory. —The superiority of the Greeks 
over the Persians as soldiers had been demonstrated on land 
and sea. The victory was due somewhat to the fact that 
the Greeks had better armor than the Persians, and a better 
organization. More than all else, however, it was the 
genius of Themistocles, his farseeing plans, and his leader- 
ship at the decisive moment, which had saved the Hellenes 
from Persian rule. 

The victory brought Athens into prominence among 
the cities of Greece, because of the ability and patriotism 
she had shown in the time of danger. It gave the Hellenes 
a feeling of unity such as they had never known before. 
Had they not fought side by side against a common foe? 
It gave them a realization of their superiority over the old 
10 



132 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



civilization of the East. But they could only explain 
their victory by thinking that the gods had aided them. 
In their gratitude they dedicated a part of the Persian spoil 
to Apollo, the god at Delphi, and to Zeus at Olympia. The 

next generation saw the building of 
beautiful temples in many ( rreek 

cities, most of all in Alliens, and the 

erection of wonderful statues to the 
gods as an expression of the thanks 

of the Hellenes for the assistance 
which the gods seemed (o have given 
(hem. 

For (he development of European 
civilization the victory of the Greeks 
had one very important result. It 
gave them the opportunity to ad- 
vance, unhampered by the old ideas 

which the Persian monarch}' had ac- 
cepted from Assyria and Babylonia. 
It made possible throughout all 
Greece the spread and development 

of the democratic institutions and 
personal freedom of art ion and 
thought which we have seen origi- 
nating especially in Athens and the coast-cities of Asia 
Minor. The new and fresh Hellenic civilization was not to 
he throttled by the older ideals of the East. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 110 156; Oman, History of Greece, 
cli. If), 17 20; Bury. History of Greece, ch, 7; Fling, Source Book, eh. 5; 
Botsford, History of Greece, ch. 7; Plutarch, Lives of Themistocles <m<l 
Aristides; !I<r<><i<>tus, BooksVl EX; NLahafiy, Survey of Greek Civilization, 
pp. L06 123. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Greek A.rmy. -Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, pp. 193-196; 

Guliok, Life of the Ancient Greeks, pp. L88 I'M). 

2. Tin; Ckkkk Navy.— Gulick, pp. I'M) 205; Tucker, pp. 107 200. 




M \\ ( ' LRHTINQ \ I ' \I.K TO A 
S ICRIFICB. 

Si.-ii Hi- of aboul 525 b. o. 



THE WESTWARD EXPANSION OF PERSIA 133 

3. The Battle of Thermopylae, —Herodotus, Book VII, 110-225; 

(in Fling, Source Book) pp. L08-117.) 

4. Account op the Battud op Salamis. Plutarch, Life of Tkemis- 

tocles; jEschylus, Persians, lines 355-520; Herodotus, Book VIII, 
71 94. 

5. Themistocles' ( Jareer Aptbr the War.— Plutarch, Life of r /'hcm- 

islor/cs. 

6. The Battle ok Plat^ja. -Herodotus, Book IX, ch. 39-85 (in 

Fling's Sourer, Hook, pp. 128-130). 



CHAPTER XIII 

THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND THE GROWTH OF 
ATHENIAN POWER 

171. Continuation of the War Against Persia. — The 

great battles of Salamis and Platsea did not end the Persian 
Wars. The Greek cities of Asia Minor were still to be 
freed from the rule of the Great King, and the Persian 
garrisons in Thrace driven out. In order to keep the liberty 
which they had regained, the Greeks in Thrace and Asia 
Minor needed the protection which could only be gained 
by united action. For it must not be forgotten that the 
forces of Persia were still numberless and her power unbroken. 

It was necessary, therefore, for the cities of Asia Minor, 
of the .Egean Islands, and of Thrace to form a league which 
could meet the situation. The state to which they first looked 
as their leader was Sparta, which had the troops of the 
Peloponnesian League at her back, and had been the main- 
stay of the Hellenic forces at Platsea. But her generals 
showed a selfish spirit in their dealings with the allied Greeks, 
and the Spartan government was indisposed to take up 
military operations as far away from home as would be 
necessary in leading the offensive war against Persia. This 
was characteristic of the Spartan conservative spirit. 

Accordingly, the cities of the iEgean and Asia Minor 
looked for another leader. This they found in Athens. 
Her navy was the largest and most effective possessed by any 
Greek city, and her reputation had grown remarkably since 
the day of Salamis. In addition, there was the common tie 
of blood; for most of the cities needing protection were Ionian; 
and the Athenians, too, were Ionian by descent. So Athens 
was requested (478 b. c.) to take over the leadership of the 
war against Persia, and a league was formed which was to have 
its meeting place and treasury on the little island of Delos. 

134 



THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN POWER 135 

172. The Delian League and Aristides.— This Delian 
League grew out of the old religious league of the Ionians, 
in which Athens had held a prominent place since the time of 
Pisistratus. Most of all the new league needed a strong 
navy. To supply this need the more important members 
agreed to furnish ships with their complement of rowers, 
while the smaller cities and islands agreed to give sums of 
money to Athens to help keep up the fleet. Athens was to 
be the leader in the war against Persia. 

Aristides was chosen as the man fitted by his unquestioned 
honesty for the task of determining the amount of tribute 
to be paid by the different cities. It was because of the 
integrity with which he carried out his task that he was 
given the name of " the Just." 

173. The Power of Athens in the League.— The Congress 
of the Greek states at the Isthmus of Corinth in 481 b. c, 
and the formation and growth of the Delian League, show 
that the Greek city-states felt the need of union. They 
were one people, and in many ways felt themselves to be so. 
On the other hand, each little state longed to hold itself 
aloof from any connection with other states which would 
deprive it of that freedom of action which the Greeks prized 
so highly. The struggle between these two ideas, the 
desire of the city-state for independence, and the necessity 
for political union, is apparent throughout ancient Greek 
history. It was the misfortune of Hellas that she could 
never peaceably develop a union of all the states of Greece 
such as we have in the United States of America. 

The organization of the League put great power in the 
hands of Athens at the outset. Athens built at her own 
dock-yards and manned by far the greater part of the fleet. 
In this way the smaller cities of the League were continually 
strengthening the naval force of the leading city, and weak- 
ening their own position in the confederation. By allowing 
the Athenians to carry on all the campaigns, they were con- 
tinually training them in the art of warfare, while they them- 
selves were losing both the desire to fight and the knowledge 
of military science. The board of ten collectors of the 



136 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



tribute, called " Hellenic Treasurers," was composed of 
Athenians alone, and the expenditure of the funds was in the 
hands of the Athenian Assembly. 

The tribute had at first been regarded as a voluntary 
contribution of equal states. Soon Athens came to regard 
it as a payment which the League members must necessarily 
make in return for her protection. The form of the con- 
federation was therefore of such a kind that Athens was 
destined to become the master of the remaining cities, 
rather than their leader. 

174. How the League Became an Empire. — Rapidly the 
membership of the League grew within the territory border- 
ing on the zEgean Sea, and southward along the coast of Asia 
Minor. Athens began to bring in by force the smaller cities 
which had not cared to join voluntarily. Although her gen- 
erals kept up the aggressive war against Persia until the 
year 449 b. c, it soon became apparent that the Greek cities, 
even in Asia Minor, had little more to fear from Persia. 
When they tried to withdraw from the League, Athens 

decided that this could 
not be allowed. When 
some of the states never- 
theless tried to secede, 
the Athenian admirals 
moved against them with 
their navy and troops, 
and whipped them into 
subj ection. This was the 
fate of the island of 
Naxos, which revolted 
about the year 467 b. c. 
Naxos was no longer con- 
sidered a member of the League. Its autonomy, or right of 
self-government, was entirely lost, and it became a tribute- 
paying subject of Athens. 

175. How Erythrse Became a Subject State.— An inscrip- 
tion on a stone slab which was found in Athens gives a good 
example of the process by which many smaller states suffered 









KAITO' 



A p O A , A O y A < % 7, ■> , 

•lO^MHNOiTHl IE 
</TH£ N.I K K 



■M' 




Fragment of a Decree of the Athenian 
Bottle and Assembly. 

Inscribed on Stone. 



THE DELI AN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN POWER 137 

this same fate. It is a decree of the Athenian Boule* (Coun- 
cil) and Assembly, i.e., the Upper and Lower Houses, of 
about the year 460 b. c. It deals with the Ionian city of 
Erythrae. 

The Erythrseans must bring contributions to the great Pan- 
Athenaic festival [held annually at Athens] worth not less than 
three minse. 1 * * * The Boule of the Erythrseans, consisting 
of 120 men, is to be chosen by lot. The men thus chosen must 
pass an examination in the Boule upon their qualification for 
the office; and it shall not be lawful for anyone to be a member 
who is under thirty years of age. * * * The lots are to be cast 
for the present Boule by the Athenian Board of Overseers and 
the Athenian Commander of the Garrison. In the future the 
lots are to be drawn by the commander and the Boule. 

The Boule shall swear the following oath: So far as I am 
able I shall plan, what is best and most just for the State of the 
Erythrseans, and of the Athenians, and of the allies. And I 
shall not revolt against nor desert the people of Athens or the 
allies, nor persuade anyone else to do so. I shall not receive 
any of the exiles who have fled to the Persians nor persuade any 
one else to do so without the consent of the Assembly and 
Boule of the Athenians. Nor shall I drive out anyone now 
remaining in the city without their consent. 

Just as in the case of Erythrae the affairs of many other 
cities fell under the dictation of the Council and Assembly 
of Athens, whose power was often represented in these 
cities, as at Erythrae, by an Athenian garrison with its 
commandant. 

176. Inner Developments of Athens from 480 to 450 B. C— 
Even before the invading army of Xerxes had been driven 
out of Greece it was apparent that some of the cities of the 
Peloponnesian League, especially Corinth, were jealous of 
the growing influence of Athens, and afraid of the great 
fleet which she now controlled. Future events showed that 
they were right in fearing the great plans of Themistocles. 

1 The mina was equal to about $18.00 in our coinage; but its real 
value was much higher, that is, it would buy much more than $18.00 
of our money to-day. 




138 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

They were right in believing that, if Athens continued 
to grow, their commerce by sea would certainly be de- 
creased as that of the Attic state increased, and that even 
their liberty would be endangered. They therefore urged 
Sparta to hinder the Athenians from rebuilding the walls 
about the city, which had been destroyed by the Persians. 
The city of Athens lies about four miles back from the 
sea-coast, but Themistocles saw that it could only be great 

as a naval power. 

/ ... v—v, He therefore per- 

... .... / ^t^ suaded the Athe- 

/*" @Pr s^/~T^ nians to build 
^ ( ^^ijffivr^*^-- ~ powerful walls 
r T-" *' """ .. ,J—~-\ aboul the Piraeus, 

f ^ ^ which was the sea- 
£rWj.*' 7"i;. ; h<" v=~ p or t of Athens, 
.-rij : E : ; 7 _ j : • ^ ! Lj ' ■ ,. : . s -— ^ and to fit it out 

with dock-yards 
and winter sheds 
for the triremes. 

Part of the Old Walls of Themisitocles Around "WVip-n thp G n n r 

ATHENS. **• 

tans sent an em- 
bassy to protest against the rebuilding of the walls about 
the city itself, Themistocles played a clever trick upon them. 
177. How Themistocles Tricked the Spartans.— The story 
is told by the greatest of ancient historians, the Athenian 
Thucydides (died after 403 b. a), who is our best authority 
on the history of the Greek states from 480 to 411 b. c. Ac- 
cording to the story, Themistocles told the Athenians to 
send him as leader of an embassy to Sparta to discuss this 
matter of rebuilding the walls. But they were to keep his 
companions on the embassy at Athens until the wall had 
been built up to a height at which the city could be de- 
fended. "The whole people, men, women, and children, 
should join in the work" of building the walls. Themistocles 
accordingly went to Sparta, talked pleasantly with the 
Spartans, expressing wonder that his colleagues did not 
come. At length the Spartans became suspicious, and sent 




THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN POWER 139 



Al 


' ACS 


/O POL IS 


J^>2> / 












BAT OF fmilerum 






PHALERUM ^w 







Long Walls Connecting Athens and the 
Pir.eus. 



an embassy to Athens to see what caused the delay. But 

Themistocles was too clever for them, and sent word to the 

Athenians to keep the Spartans in custody until he returned 

home. When the walls 

were high enough, the 

Athenian embassy came 

to Sparta. But the 

Spartans could not do 

Themistocles and his 

companions any harm, 

because they knew that 

their own embassy was 

being detained at Athens 

as hostages for the safety 

of Themistocles. 

The fortification of the 
city was completed in 458 

b. c, when the " Long Walls " were finished which connected 
Athens with the Piraeus. These two walls were each about 
12 feet thick by 30 feet in height, and the distance between 
them was 200 feet. Thus the city was connected with the sea 
by a wide walled street. In case of a siege by land, Athens 
could always have its food brought in safely by sea. So long 
as the fleet remained strong enough to uphold the Athenian 
rule over the sea, the power of Athens would still be unbroken. 

178. Party Politics at Athens. — After the Persian inva- 
sion there existed in Athens two political parties, the Con- 
servatives or Aristocrats, and the Democrats. The Aris- 
tocrats were led by Cimon, the son of Miltiades. His 
influence was strong because he was the general who led 
the aggressive war of the Delian League against Persia, 
and defeated the Persian navy in numerous battles. The 
political program of Cimon and his party contained the 
following ideas: 

1. To uphold the form of government which then existed, 
without allowing the Thetes to gain further power in the state. 

2. To avoid arousing Spartan and Peloponnesian jealousy 



140 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

any further. Athens and Sparta were to be team-mates in the 
leadership of the Hellenes. 

3. To treat the allies of the Delian League with all consider- 
ation. That is to say, Athens was to avoid increasing her 
power over the other League members. 

The Democratic party was progressive. It wished to 
develop the state rapidly along all lines, as shown by the 
following ideas for which the party stood: 

1. To develop the Athenian power in the League at the 
expense of the allies. 

2. To pay no attention to the increasing jealousy of Sparta, 
even to break with her entirely if that became necessary. 

3. To carry out the development of the rights of the people, 
i.e., the democratic program, as it had been begun by Solon and 
carried further by Clisthenes and Themistocles. 

In Pericles, a young noble of the same powerful and aris- 
tocratic clan as Clisthenes, the democracy found a great and 
capable leader. 

179. The Spirit of Democracy Grows at Athens.— The 
strife of these parties resulted in the ostracism of Cimon in 
the year 461 b. c. Then the ideas of the radical democracy 
were rapidly put through. The members of the Boule, 
and the panels of jurors in the law courts, had long been 
selected by lot. The board of nine Archons had been 
added to this list after the time of Clisthenes. All citizens, 
even the Thetes, were now made eligible to the archonship. 
The choice of officials by lot is certainly democratic; for it 
is only a matter of chance which ones of the candidates will 
be chosen. The rich man has no advantage over the poor 
nor the intelligent citizen over the unintelligent. 

The opportunity of the poorer citizen to stand for the 
state offices was greatly increased by a new law passed by 
the Democrats. This law granted a fixed salary to the 
Archons, and a daily payment for citizens who were serving 
as members of the Boule or on the juries. This idea is so 
common to us that it is hard to realize that the ancient 
Greeks had not paid their officials before this time. The 



THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN POWER 141 


















Hellenic city-states were founded, however, on the principle 
that, for the privileges which his citizenship gave him, 1 the 
citizen owed to the state his services in administration, 
and in the army. The result of this principle was that 
the poorer citizens, who lived from what they earned from 
day to day, could not afford to give up their time to state 
business, and the wealthier classes ran the state. When 
payment was introduced the poor citizen could afford to 
devote time to the state service. This 
was the most important step yet taken N I 

in the growth of the idea of rule by 
all citizens of the state. 

180. The Office of Strategus.— The 
Attic democracy was now full-grown. 
Since the Archons were chosen by 
lot, the office lost much of its influence. 
The real leadership went over to the 
Board of Ten Generals, the Strategi, 
who were elected annually out of the 
ten Attic tribes. One of those became 
Chairman of the Board, and was called 
" The Strategus." He was probably 
elected by vote of all the Attic citizens, 
and his power corresponded to that of 
a president. To this office Pericles was 
elected j^ear after year. Since he was 
the leader of the splendid intellectual 
life of Athens at the time when its 

people were doing wonderful things, it may be well to know 
what Thucydides, the historian, thought of him. Thucydides 
was already a grown man when Pericles died (429 b. c.) and 
knew him thoroughly well. 

He, deriving authority from his capacity and acknowledged 
worth, being also a man of transparent integrity, was able to 

1 We have a number of honorary offices for which the citizen receives 
no salary, especially in connection with the school-boards and library- 
boards of our cities. 



M 






i*.a. 



Ancient Bust of Pericles. 



142 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

control the multitude in a free spirit; he led them rather than 
was led by them; for, not seeking power by dishonest arts, he 
had no need to say pleasant things, but, on the strength of his 
own high character, could venture to oppose and even anger 
them. When he saw them unseasonably elated and arrogant, 
his words humbled and awed them; and when they were de- 
pressed by groundless fears, he sought to reanimate their con- 
fidence. Thus Athens, though still in name a democracy, was 
in fact ruled by her greatest citizen. (Thucydides, II: 65.) 

181. Athens Tries to Extend Her Empire on Land. — 

The power of Athens grew year by year. The ambition 
and energy of her citizens kept pace with her power. No 
task seemed too great for this single city. Her commerce 
increased vastly. The two greatest trading cities of Greece, 
Corinth and iEgina, became alarmed, and looked upon Athens 
with growing bitterness. In 457 b. c. the island state of 
iEgina, an old commercial rival, was overwhelmed, and made 
a subject-member of the Delian League. 

The Democratic leaders embarked the state upon a sea 
of trouble w r hen they attempted to extend the sway of 
Athens over central Greece (460-446 b. a). The Spartans 
could not endure the growth of a land league which would 
rival their Peloponnesian League in military power and 
take away from Corinth and Sicyon the valuable trade 
which they had had with their northward neighbors. So the 
Spartans sent their armies into Bceotia to help the central 
states against the Athenian encroachments. From year to 
year the war was waged and battles fought in central Greece. 
The Athenian land empire included for a short time Megara, 
Bceotia, Phocis, and Locris, and there was a strong Athenian 
influence in Peloponnesian Achsea and Argos. 

182. The Egyptian Expedition and End of the Land Em- 
pire. — But the union of so many states under one head, 
the idea of subjection of one state to another, ran counter 
to the desire for freedom among the city-states. Conse- 
quently it aroused a general feeling that Athens was a ty- 
rannical oppressor of her allies. Athens also had the aggres- 



THE DELIAN LEAGUE AND ATHENIAN POWER 143 

sive war against Persia still on her hands. As a part of this 
war, the city sent a great fleet to assist Egypt in revolting 
against Persia (459 b. a). The object of the Athenian 
leaders was to obtain the rich trade from Egypt for their 
city, no less than to carry on the Persian war. In 454 
b. c. the war ended with the complete loss of the Athenian 
fleet, numbering over 200 ships. 

183. Importance of the Date 454 B. C. — There were two 
clearly marked results of this defeat. The Athenian leaders 
made it an excuse, on the ground that the Persians might 
again sail into the .Egean Sea, for removing the treasury 
of the Delian Confederacy from Delos to the temple of 
Athena on the Acropolis at Athens. The year 454 b. c. 
may be regarded, therefore, as the date at which the Delian 
League is fully transformed into an Athenian Empire; 
for after this year the annual meeting of the members of 
the League ceased to be held at Delos, and all business was 
carried on from Athens. 

In the second place, the serious blow to Athenian power 
in the Egyptian defeat of the year 454 b. c. weakened the 
state so much that the idea of the empire by land was 
eventually abandoned. Some of the allies in the Delian 
League revolted, especially the island of Eubcea, which 
lay at the very door of Athens. Pericles was forced to give 
up the hope of extending her power on land and devoted his 
efforts to maintaining the solidity of the naval empire. 

184. Thirty Years Peace. — In the year 445 b. c. Pericles 
formed a truce with Sparta which was to last for thirty 
years. Athens agreed to give up the territories she had 
gained on the mainland of Greece, and the extent of the 
Peloponnesian League and of the Delian League was defined 
by naming the allies of each state. Each party agreed that 
no city-state belonging to the other league should be al- 
lowed to join its alliance, but that neutral states should be 
permitted to join whichever league they might choose. 

If these conditions had been adhered to Sparta and Athens 
might have maintained peace, the one as head of a land 
league, the other as leader of a naval empire; but this dream 



144 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

of harmony was thwarted by the commercial jealousy of 
Corinth. 

References for Outside Reading 

Oman, History of Greece, ch. 22-24; Botsford, History of the Orient 
and Greece, pp. 140-157, 163-179; Bury, History of Greece, ch. 8-9; 
Fling, Source Book of Greek History, pp. 144-159; Cox, Athenian Empire, 
pp. 1-41; Grant, Greece in the Age of Pericles, ch. 5-6; Abbott, Pericles, 
ch. 4-9; Plutarch, Lives of Aristides, Cimon, Pericles; Aristotle, Con- 
stitution of Athens, ch. 23-28. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Aristides and the Formation of the Delian League. — Plu- 

tarch, Aristides, ch. 23-26. 

2. End of Pausanias and Themistocles. — Thucydides I, ch. 127-139; 

Plutarch, Themistocles (last part). 

3. Cause of the Ostracism of Cimon. — Thucydides I, ch. 98-103; 

Plutarch, Cimon (last pages). 

4. Appearance of Ancient Athens. — Gulick, Life of the Ancient 

Greeks, ch. 2; Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, ch. 2. 



CHAPTER XIV 

THE STATE SYSTEM OF ATHENS AT THE HEIGHT OF 

HER GREATNESS 

185. Importance of the Development of Athens. — The 

growth and expansion of the city-state of Attica has been 
followed at some length, because the city used its position 
of influence in ways which have left a strong impress on the 
world's life and thought. For several hundred years Athens 
was the intellectual center of the civilized world. During 
that time its writers and thinkers produced works of the 
finest character, which are still read, and still influence the 
ideas and lives of men. Its sculptors modeled statues in 
stone and bronze, which must be ranked among the world's 
masterpieces. It is doubtful whether any nation in the 
world's history has produced so many men of unquestioned 
genius, in the same period of time, as lived in the small 
state of Attica from 480 to 330 b. c. It will therefore be 
worth our while to learn of the form of the state in which this 
work was done, and some of the thoughts of its great men, 
as expressed in literature and other artistic forms. 

The fifth century b. c. has been called the "Age of Peri- 
cles," because Pericles was the guiding mind of the Attic 
state during the period of these marvelous achievements. 

186. Use of the Tribute Which Came into Athens. — Peri- 
cles and the men of his party claimed that they had the 
right to use the tribute which came in from the allies of the 
Delian League to beautify Athens, and to further its welfare. . 
So they set about making the city a glorious one to see. 

Pericles began immense projects in the way of building and 
designs for public works, which would employ many arts in 
their construction, and a long time in their completion. The 
materials required in their construction were stone, bronze, 
ivory, gold, ebony, and cypress wood. The trades which would 

145 



146 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

be called in to work them out were those of the carpenter, the 
moulder, the worker in bronze, the stone-mason, the goldsmith, 
the ivory-worker, painters, embroiderers, and turners. In the 
transportation of these articles to the city many men would be 
employed; merchants and sailors and pilots by sea; by land, 
wagon-makers, horse-breeders, teamsters, rope-makers, flax- 
workers, workers in leather, road-builders, and miners. 
(Plutarch, Pericles, ch. 12.) 

187. The Increase in the Trade of Athens.— The soil of 
Attica was never very fertile, and now that the city was 
growing rapidly it became necessary to import grain and 
other food-products from Egypt, Asia Minor, the Black Sea 
region, and the West. An Athenian political pamphlet, of 
about the year 424 b. c, has the following statement of the 
commercial effect of the naval power of Athens: 

It is to this same lordship of the seas that the Athenians owe 
the discovery, in the first place, of many of the luxuries of life 
through intercourse with other countries. So that the choice 
things of Sicily and Italy, of Cyprus and Egypt and Lydia, of 
Pontus or Peloponnese, or wheresoever else it be, are all swept, 
as it were, into one center, and all owing, as I say, to their mari- 
time empire. (Xenophon, Polity of the Athenians, ch. 2.) 

Into the ample harbors of the Piraeus sailed the ships 
of all the Mediterranean world. From the East came 
woolen goods woven in Sardis and the cities of Phoenicia, 
and articles of luxury, such as Persian slippers, salves, 
peacocks, and the fruits of the Persian Empire, apples, dates, 
and chestnuts. 

188. Growth of Manufacturing Industries.— Since Athens 
was becoming the greatest commercial center of Greece, 
manufacturing industries sprang up in the city. A sug- 
gestion of this, as well as a hint of the retail business, is 
given by the philosopher Socrates in a talk which he is 
reported to have had with another Athenian. The con- 
versation is put down by Xenophon, an Athenian soldier 
and writer, born about 430 b. c, in his Memorabilia of 
Socrates. 



THE STATE SYSTEM OF ATHENS 



147 



Then you are not aware that by the manufacture of one arti- 
cle alone — his barley-meal store — Nausicydes not only main- 
tains himself and his domestics, but many pigs and cattle 
besides, and realizes such large profits that he frequently contrib- 
utes to the burden of the public services; while there is Cyre- 
bus, again, who, out of a bread factory, more than maintains 
the whole of his establishment, and lives in the lap of luxury; 
and Demeas of the deme of Collytus gets a livelihood out of a 




A Greek Bronze Foundry. 

On the left, two Artists are Finishing a Colossal Bronze Figure. 
On the right is the Furnace and its Attendants. 

cloak business, and Menon as a maker of fine shawls, and so 
again, more than half the people of Megara by the making of 
sleeveless tunics. (Xenophon, Memorabilia, II, 7.) 

Such manufactured articles as these, and most of all, 
the fine Athenian pots and vases painted by skilled artists, 
were shipped out as exports and sold wherever a market 
could be found. 

189. The Athenian Citizenship.— In dealing with the Greek 

democracies we must keep in mind that they were in several 

ways different from those of the present day. In the 
11 



148 



the history of cmwcio 



United States, any man horn in the land has the privileges 
of citizenship, generally including the right to hold office, to 
vote at the election of national, state, and local officials, 




Sci:\i in a Y.\si;-i\w\ti:k's STUDIO. 

Tlu' (Joddess AthciiM and a Goddess of Victory Crown the two Men. 
The Woman is not Crowned. 

and to express his opinion, by his vote, on changes in the 
national or state constitution, or on matters pertaining to the 
affairs of his locality. Even immigrants from other coun- 
tries may after five years of resi- 
dence obtain most of these privileges 
through the process of naturalization. 
The Greek city-states were exclu- 
sive in their citizenship. At Athens 
the rule was that only those were 
citizens whose parents belonged to 
oik 1 of the old clan divisions, which 
were called Phratries, or Brother- 
hoods. A boy born of Athenian 
father and mother had to appear be- 
fore the men of his deme (township) 
at the age of eighteen and be accepted 
by them as a member of that deme. After two years of 
preparatory military service he became a full Athenian 
citizen with the right to vote. It was only by a vote passed 
in each special instance that foreigners could obtain Athenian 
citizenship, and comparatively few aliens were given its 




Thk Barber. 
(heck Terra-cotta Figurines. 



THE STATE SYSTEM OF ATHENS 149 

privileges. Tin* number of male citizens in the lifetime of 
Pericles was about 35,000. The cil izen populal ion, therefore, 
including the wives and children of these men, was about 
100,000. 

190. Alien Residents and Slaves. Of course, as the Attic 
state kept growing, numbers of aliens came in and settled 
there. These men were called metics, meaning resident 
aliens. They paid a tax of twelve drachmas 1 a year for the 
protection which the state gave them. Most, of the business 
of Alliens was carried on by these metics, who numbered 
about 10,000. With their families they must, have included 
about 50,000 of the inhabitants. 

In addition to the citizens and metics, there were the 

slaves, who had no rights in the state at all. Of this class, 

which included the household servants, the day-laborers, and 

workers in the mines, there must, have been over 100,000 souls. 

191. Difference between Ancient and Modern Democra- 
cies. In one other fundamental feature the democracies of 
the ancient world differed from those of to-day. We eled 

representatives who assemble for the purpose of making 
laws at the state or national capitals. Our Senates and 
Houses of Representatives, .as well as our city councils, 
are representative bodies, chosen to act in the interests of 
the people by whom they are elected. 

In the ancient city-states which had a democratic form 
of government, each citizen voted directly in the Assembly 
of the people on all laws presented. No matter whether 

:i citizen lived in a deme fifteen miles from the city, he must 
Come to Athens to the meetings of the Assembly if he wished 
to exercise his right to vote. Our present form is called 

the representative democracy as opposed to the ancienl form 
which is called the pure democracy. It wns the small area 
of the ancient city-states, and the small number of voters 
which alone made the system of direct voting possible. 

192. The Boule and Assembly. -The 500 members of the 
Boule, or Council, were chosen by lot, 50 from each Phyle, or 

1 A. drachma was equal to about 18 cents in our coinage; hut its 

purchasing power was much greater. 



150 THE BISTORT? OF GREECE 

tribe, according to the reforms of Clisthenes. Since this 
body was too large to transact business readily, the fifty 
members from each tribe look (urns in acting as a committee 
of the whole body. This committee was called a "prytany " 
and prepared business for the larger meetings o( the entire 
Boule". Each tribe, therefore, held the prytany for one- 
tenth of the year. A chairman was chosen out of this body 
to preside for one day. An Athenian was not eligible to the 
Boule" until he was thirty years of age. (Compare the Con- 
stitution of Erythrae, § 17(>.) 

The Ecclesia, or Assembly, was the body i^ all citizens 
<>\cv twenty years o\' age. It held four regular meetings 
during the prytany of each tribe, but as many special sessions 
might be called as the magistrates deemed necessary. The 
Ecclesia elected the officials, and voted <m all bills laid be- 
fore it. These always came up first before the Boule, and 
were there put into form. In the fifth century every form 
of business came up before these two bodies. They passed 
upon questions o( peace and war; determined whether a new 
law was needed on any subject ; passed all financial bills, and 
inspected the accounts of the magistrates at the (aid of their 
yearly term. In general, it may be said that tlu 1 entire 
state was under the direction of the Council and Assembly. 

193. A Decree of the Athenian Council and Assembly. — 
When the cities of the island of Eubcea revolted against 
Athens in 446 b. c, Pericles was forced togive up his plans 
for a land empire. In the next year he brought back the 
entire island under Athenian sway. Of the new alliances 
made by Athens with the cities of the island, the one with 
the important city o^ Chalcis (445 b. c.) has eome down to 
us. It was inscribed on a stone slab which was found on 
the Acropolis of Athens in 1876. The document gives us a 
very good idea of the way in which the Boule and Assembly 
passed their bills. The following is a part of it: 

Decree passed by the Boule and the Assembly. The tribe 
Antiochis held the prytany. Dracontides was Chairman. 
Diognetus made the motion. 



THE STATE SYSTEM OF ATI I IONS L51 

The Boule* and the Dieasts (jurors) of the Athenians arc to 
take i he following oal li : 

I will not drive ou1 the Chalcidians from Chalcis. J will not 
destroy the city. I will ao1 deprive any citizen of his citizen 
rights without a judicial inquiry, or punish him with exile, or 
arrest, or put him to death, or take away his property without 
the consenl of the Athenian people. I will not allow a vote to 
be taken concerning the entire commonweall h or- concerning any 
private citizen unless there has heen a regular summons to 
trial. When an embassy conies from Chalcis, in so far as this 
is possible, I will bring i1 before the Boule* and the Assembly with- 
in ten days. All this I will granl to the Chalcidians if they be 
obedient to < he At henian people. 

The Chalcidians are to swear the following oath: 

I will use neither guile nor deceit to bring about a revolt from 
t he At henian people, ei1 her in word or deed, nor will I follow one 
who has revolted. And if anyone should revolt, I will report 

him to the Athenians. I will pay tribute to the Athenians of 
whatever amounl I can persuade them to impose [i.e., the Chal- 
cidians shall have the right to appeal to the Assembly regarding 
the amounl of their tribute ]. I will be a strong and upright ally 
of the Athenians to the very best of my ability. And I will 

come to the aid Of the people of Athens when anyone attacks 
them and be obedient to them. 

All the Chalcidians who are of age shall take this oath. 

The decree opens with the date, indicated by giving the 
prytany and the name of the chairman. Usually the year 
was also given by mentioning the name of the Chief Archon 
and the Secretary of the Boule*; but this is lacking in our 
inscription. It contains useful information, however, on 
the mutual obligation of the Athenians and their allies. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, ch. 12; Botsford, History of the 
Orient and Greece, pp. 172 170; Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, ch. 
a, 16; Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, ch. 4, L3; Aristotle, Constitution 
oj Athens, sections 4'2 63; Hammond, Political Institutions of the 
Ancient Greeks, pp. 77-86; Greenidge, Greek Constitutional History, 
pp. L66 204. 



152 THE HISTORY or OKKKCE 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The State Liturgies. -Harper's or Smith's Classical Dictionary 

under the word " Liturgy. " 

2. Greek Manufactures und Trades. Gulick, Life of the Ancient 

Greeks, ch. is. 

3 - Athenian Methods of Law-making ind Voting.— Gulick, 
Life <>/ i he Ancient Greeks, pp. 206-210; Tucker, Life in Ancient 

Athens, eh. 13. 

4. An Athenian Trial. -Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, ch. 14; 
Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, pp. 211-215. 



CHAPTER XV 

THE INTELLECTUAL GREATNESS OF ATHENS IN 
THE FIFTH CENTURY 

194. The Athenian Drama. -During the time of the Per- 
sian sway over Ionia and the war of the Delian League for 
the liberation of flic Hellenic people in Asia Minor, the 
lonians lost a great deal of their former commerce with the 

Persian interior. The Greek cities of the mother-country 

and those of Italy and Sicily gained in volume of trade as 
Ionia lost. The business of Athens and Syracuse grew 
tremendously. As the commercial centers shifted westward, 
so also the intellectual centers moved. Athens became tin- 
source of an intellectual and artistic activity which ha 
given that city a unique place in history. 

The literary genius which the Hellenes of Ionia had 
shown in the Homeric poems and in the Ionian lyric poetry, 

reached its bloom in the religious drama of the three great 

Athenian writers of tragedy, /Eschylus, Sophocles, and 
Euripides. The Greek tragedy, or u goat song/' was so 
different from our modern drama that it needs some ex- 
planation. It arose from the crude dances and songs which 
were held each spring at the festival of the wine-god, Diony- 
sus, when a goat was offered up to him. A Greek drama 
consisted of t he dialogue bel ween t he actors and thechoruscs, 
which were recited by a body of twelve; (later fifteen; men 
to the accompaniment of flutes. The parts, whether repre- 
senting male or female characters, were all taken by men. 

195. How the Dramas were Produced. -The Hellenes 
could not go to the theater any night they wished, for the 
dramas were given only during the time of three religious 
festivals, held in December, January, and March. Al- 
though regarded as religious in character, they really took 
the form of dramatic contests, in which rival composers 

153 



154 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

competed. In general, therefore, they occupied about the 
same place in Greek religious life as the great Olympic and 
Pythian Games. The presentations came in the daytime, 
the tragedies following each other during the mornings, 
comedies during the afternoons. The spectators took their 
lunches with them, and sat from daybreak to nightfall on 
the wooden or stone seats of the theaters, which were open 
to the sky. 

The plays lacked entirely the magnificent stage-settings 
to which we are accustomed to-day. The acting and the 
stately movements of the choruses took place in a ring, 
called the orchestra, which was always surrounded by the 
seats of the spectators. The only background was a low 
building with columns in front of it, called the skene, from 
which comes our English word " scene." Here the actors 
dressed and came out into the view of the audience. It 
was the great Pericles who saw the immense possibilities 
for educating his people by means of these dramas. He had 
a law passed by which each citizen received back from the state 
the two obols 1 which he paid for admission to the performances. 

196. The Dramatist .ffischylus, 525-456 B. C— The 
Athenian .Eschylus, who fought at Marathon and Salamis, 
is the founder of tragedy, in the sense that he was the one 
who took a second actor out of the chorus, and thus made it 
possible to have dialogue between two persons on the stage. 
He set the general form of the drama, from which it has 
changed but little through a thousand years. 

Of the great number of plays which he wrote, we still 
have seven. In the Persians, which is one of the oldest 
of them, iEschylus tried his hand at an historical drama. 
He took for his subject the return of Xerxes from Greece 
after the defeat at Salamis. Although the chorus and the 
dialogue are fine, the whole drama seems heavy and without 
movement. Yet it breathes the spirit of Hellenic pride 
and thankfulness for the victory over the Persians. The 

1 The "obol" was a small coin worth about three cents. As must 
always be remembered in dealing with Greek money, the obol would 
buy much more than its English equivalent. 



ATHENS IN THE FIFTH CENTURY 155 

spirited description of the battle of Salamis, in which ^Eschy- 
lus himself participated, is the best account of that battle that 
we have. By introducing the ghost of the old king Darius 
and contrasting his dignity with the passionate grief of 
Xerxes, iEschylus has been able to contrast sharply the 
former invincible power of Persia with the ruin of its repu- 
tation after the defeat of Xerxes. 

197. The Subjects of Greek Tragedy.— For some reason 
the drama built around an historical incident was not a 
success. iEschylus thereafter confined himself to drama- 
tizing the mythological stories of the Greek gods and heroes, 
and these became the standard subjects for Greek tragedy. 
He based many of his plays upon the stories of the Trojan 
War. His greatest work that we have is the Orestes trilogy. 
A trilogy is a group of three plays dealing with the same story, 
each one complete in itself, but all together making a unit. 
The first play of the Orestes trilogy is the Agamemnon, one 
of the greatest tragedies ever written. It depicts the return 
of Agamemnon from Troy and his murder by Clytemestra, 
his unfaithful wife. A curse which has brought sorrow and 
death upon his father, as it now does upon him, rests upon 
the house of Agamemnon. The second play, the Libation- 
Bearers, tells of the blood-curse which drives the son Orestes 
to kill his mother in return for his father's murder. Though 
Orestes is commanded to do this awful deed by the god 
Apollo, punishment must fall upon him, too. Pursued by 
the Furies, who represent the pangs of a guilty conscience, 
Orestes becomes insane. The last play of the trilogy, the 
Eumenides, or Furies, tells how the Furies pursued the 
murderer even into the sanctuary of the god Apollo at 
Delphi. Then the wretched youth takes refuge with the 
goddess Athena at Athens. He is tried before the High 
Court in that city, and the just goddess of Athens gives the 
deciding vote, which makes him free of guilt. So the great 
problem of sin and guilt is solved and the curse is raised 
from the house of Agamemnon. 

The strength of .Eschylus, his claim to a very high place 
among the world's greatest dramatists, lies in the sincerity 



156 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



and depth of his religious feeling, in the grandeur of his 
ideas, and the forceful beauty of his verses. 

198. Sophocles, 497-405 B. C— Sophocles is no less great 
as a writer than iEschylus, but in an entirely different way. 

He perfected the form of tragedy on 
the lines started by ^Eschylus. When 
he added a third actor, there could be 
three speaking characters on the stage 
at once, which relieved the stiffness of 
the dialogue. 

The characters of Sophocles are more 
human than those of the older dramatist. 
What he loses in grandeur of thought he 
gains in the human appeal to our 
emotions. The Antigone of Sophocles 
is still produced from time to time. 
Despite the changes in taste which 
centuries have brought, the charm of 
this tragedy is unimpaired. The story 
is from the legends of Thebes. A young 
prince of Thebes led an army against 
his native city, in which the power 
was held by his brother. Before the walls 
of the city they fought, and both were slain. The new king, 
their uncle Creon, forbade burial to the rebel brother who 
had attacked Thebes. This was contrary to the Greek 
religious teaching, which obliged the nearest relative to 
see that a dead person was properly buried. So Antigone, 
sister of the two young men, though still a young girl, de- 
termined to carry out the will of the gods, despite the decree 
of King Creon which pronounced death upon the person 
who should touch the body. The tragedy depicts, in 
wonderful lines, the brave and stubborn character of this 
young girl, and how she met her death for what she deemed 
right. Creon, the king, was terribly punished for his pre- 
sumption in trying to uphold a state decree contrary to 
the eternal laws of heaven. For upon the day of Antigone's 
death, his son and his wife killed themselves out of grief. 




Sophocles 



ATHENS IN THE FIFTH CENTURY 157 

Too late the weak and violent ruler felt the wrath of the 
gods, and the awful effects of his error. Of the seven extant 
tragedies of Sophocles, the Antigone and the King (Edipus 
are the greatest. 

199. The Beautifying of the City: the Acropolis.— No 
city has ever been more active in erecting temples and 
other buildings for the use and enjoyment of its citizens 
than Athens under the guidance of Pericles. In an address 
before the people of Athens the great statesman expressed 
his public policy in the following words: 

And we have not forgotten to provide for our weary spirits 
many relaxations from toil; we have regular games and sacri- 
fices throughout the year; at home the style of our life is refined; 
and the delight which we daily feel in all these things helps to 
banish melancholy. (Thucydides, II, ch. 38.) 

When the Persians took the city in 480 b. c, they de- 
stroyed it utterly. When the Athenians returned they 
began to rebuild it in a manner which expressed nobly their 
thankfulness to the gods, and their pride in the part which 
the city had taken in the great victory over the hosts of 
Xerxes. From the earliest days of the city's history, the 
Acropolis had been the center of the religious life of Athens, 
and its inner stronghold. It is a bare rock which rises some 
200 feet above the level of the city, and is about 900 feet in 
length by 500 feet at its greatest width. This eminence, 
with its beautiful outlook over the Attic plain and the blue 
stretch of the Saronic Gulf, was a fitting site for the city's 
glory. 

200. Character of Greek Architecture.— The Greeks were 
endowed by nature with an inborn love for beautiful things, 
with fine taste, and a sense of harmony such as few peoples 
have had. In epic and lyric poetry, and in the Athenian 
drama, this sense of beauty expressed itself in works of 
perfect beauty; while in architecture its most character- 
istic form appeared in the temples of the gods. The Greek 
temple architecture is one of the gifts of Greece to civiliza- 
tion, which has never been lost. All of our cities contain 




< 
a 
■ 

H 

BQ 



158 



ATHEX.S IX J J I J ; III 1 II CENTURY 



159 



buildings in which the stately columns of the Greek temples 
are used in one form or another to remind us of the ancient 
Hellenes and their work in the world. 

In its simplest form the Greek temple is a dark room, 
the home of the image of some god, with columns at the 
front. It was not used, like our churches, as a meeting 
place of worshippers. Hence it was small and unimposing, 
but the harmony of its proportions made up for the grandeur 
which might have l>een gained by greater size. Its char- 
acteristic feature and the source of its beauty lay in the 
outer columns, which helped to support the roof. As the 
ideas of the architects developed, they placed these columns 
entirely around the central room, at the front and rear, and 
on the sides. 

201. The Three Styles, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian.— The 
column as an architectural support and ornament was not 
an invention of the Greeks. The heavy columns used in 
the Egyptian temples and those in the Cretan pala< 
served as their models. These were developed by the 
Greeks into three forms, 
differentiated, most of all, by 
the capital or top of the 
column. According to the 
type of column, the temples 
were said to be of the Doric, 
the Ionic, or the Corinthian 
"order." The oldest of the 
three is the Doric, and the 
Corinthian did not come into 
favor until late in the fifth 
century. All three orders 
were used throughout the 
Greek cities, and the names do not mean that any one 
order was the exclusive style of a particular Greek tribe. 

The Doric column is the simplest of the three. It is 
thick-set in its proportions, giving the appearance of strength 
and solidity without heaviness. The capital is a square 
stone slab, somewhat greater in width than the column, 




Doric, Ionian', and Corinthian 
Columns. 



160 



THE. HISTORY OF GREECE 



resting upon a smaller stone that tapers into the shaft of 
the column. In the Ionic order the Greek architects broke 
away from the severe simplicity of the Doric style. The 
column is far more slender and delicate than the Doric. The 
capital is a graceful roll of stone, curling at the ends into 
snail-like "volutes." The general effect is softer and more 
elegant than that of the sturdy and manly Doric style. 
The Corinthian order is a modification of the Ionic, differing 
chiefly in the decoration of the capital. This is made up 
of several rows of leaves which curl over slightly at the top. 
In the later Greek period, and in Roman times, it became 
very popular. 

When we think of a Greek temple of ancient times, we 
must remember that it was often adorned with large statues 
set in the "pediment," the triangular space under the roof 
at each end. We must remember that these figures were 
colored, the lips and eyes and garments painted. The 
whole " entablature," that space from the top of the column 
to the roof, was gayly painted in strong red and deep blue 

hues. All of this painting 
has long since faded from 
those Greek temples which 
are still standing. In the 
clear, transparent air of 
Greece, where the natural 
coloring of sea, sky, and 
mountains is intense, the 
beauty of the temples, so 
harmonious in their out- 
lines, must have been great- 
ly heightened by the addi- 
tion of color. 

202. The Parthenon.— Of all the beautiful temples which 
rose upon the Acropolis in the times of Pericles, the most 
wonderful is that dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena. 
It is called the Parthenon, the Virgin's Temple. After 
2,300 years have passed it still stands, imposing in its shat- 
tered grandeur. In 1687 a. d. the Turks were in possession 




Rearing Horse from the Parthenon 
Frieze. 



ATHENS IN THE FIFTH CENTURY 



161 




Ruins of the Parthenon at Athens. 



of Athens, and used the building as a storehouse for powder. 
The powder was ignited by a cannonball and blew the 
central portion of the building into fragments. Yet the 
ruins tell us volumes of that remarkable sense of correct 
proportion which characterized the Greek idea of beauty. 

Begun soon after 450 b. c, the Parthenon was completed 
about 437 b. c. 
It is of the Doric 
order, 101 feet 
wide by 227 feet 
long, surrounded 
by great columns 
over six feet in 
diameter at the 
base. Its deco- 
ration, the mak- 
ing of the pedi- 
ment figures and the great frieze which ran round the 
outer wall of the temple house, was all under the guidance 
of the great Athenian sculptor Phidias. The subject of 
the frieze is the procession of Athenians carrying gifts to 
the goddess Athena at the great Pan-Athenian festival, 
which occurred once in four years. This frieze is one of the 
most interesting remains of Greek art that we have. It 
contains over 350 figures of men and women and over 125 
of horses, each one in a different and individual pose. 

But the greatest single feature of the Parthenon was the 
gold and ivory statue of the goddess Athena, modeled by 
Phidias. It was a standing figure about thirty-eight feet 
in height. On the head of the goddess rested a golden 
helmet; the representations of the face and skin were of 
ivory, and the eyes were precious stones set in. The goddess 
stood in the inner temple facing the entrance, a figure of 
great dignity and majesty. There are left to-day only 
poor and small copies of this masterpiece, which give no 
idea of its original grandeur. 

203. Sculpture in the Periclean Age: Myron.— In judg- 
ing the work of the Greek sculptors we are hampered by 



162 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 















the fact that only a few of the original works have been 

saved. Therefore our judgment is largely based upon copies 

of the originals made h . later times by inferior crafts- 
men. It is certain, however, that 
the Greek sculptors expressed 
ideas of beauty in stone and 
marble which have never been 
surpassed through two thousand 
years of endeavor. 

Of the sculptors who lived in 
the Periclean Age. two stand out 
as preeminent. Myron and Phi- 
dias. The elder. Myron, was 
noted for the realism and natural- 
ness of his figures. He struck 
boldly away from the path fol- 
lowed by former artists, and by 
his originality has made his name 
one of the greatest in sculpture. 
The works of the older Greek 

artists and o( the Babylonians and Egyptians were upright 

figures which stood or sat stiffly, and in a conventional pose. 

Myron tried to express the human figure 

in moments of action. Such was his 

bronze " Discus-thrower," which we 

have in a number of late stone copies. 

It was a daring attempt to depict the 

human body in a strange position, 

twisted and taut, ready for the throw. 

The work was a great favorite with 

ancient art lovers. 
204. Phidias. —The greatest master 

among ancient sculptors was the Athe- 
nian Phidias. The gold and ivory image 

of the virgin Athena in the Parthenon, 

and the great seated statue of the Olympian Zeus. 

also in gold and ivory, in the huge temple at Olympia, 

were the most famous of his statues. Visitors to Olympia 



THE DlSCVS-THKOWtH ok Mykox. 




1 

Copy of the Head of a 

5 vtue of A then -, 
sy Phit - 



ATHENS IN THE FIFTH CENTURY 163 

gazed with awe and wonder upon the majestic figure 
and benign face of the god. Though we have no ade- 
quate copy of it, the admiration of the ancient critics 
convinces us of its artistic greatness. In it the "noble sim- 
plicity and quiet majesty," characteristic of the Greek 
art of this period, found its finest expression. One ancient 
writer said he believed that if a man should come before 
this statue, bowed down with the deepest sorrow and grief 
that life could bring, he would forget his sorrows as he 
gazed upon its gentle dignity. 

The greatest feature of the art of Phidias was the sincerity 
of his conception of the gods, of his religious convictions 
as they were expressed in marble. It was only this depth 
of feeling in him which made his gods so awe-inspiring, 
their divinity so manifest. 

205. The Circle of Pericles' Friends. — A number of the 
men of genius who made Athens noted in the ancient world 
were intimately associated with Pericles. Phidias and 
Sophocles and the Ionian philosopher Anaxagoras were 
his close friends. The historian Herodotus, who wrote 
the story of the Persian Wars, spent some years in Athens, 
and was a member of the circle which found in Pericles 
and his wife, Aspasia, its intellectual leaders. 

Aspasia, a woman of Miletus, was no less intelligent 
and inspiring than Pericles himself. She is said to have been 
very helpful to the great leader in his political work. But 
the Athenians were not accustomed to have women take 
any part in the intellectual life of men. Their women stayed 
at home and attended to the household duties. A feeling, 
therefore, arose among the people against this freedom of 
women which Aspasia represented. With this was com- 
bined a spirit of uneasiness at the new and progressive 
ideas which came from this circle of advanced thinkers. 
They seemed to be undermining the old belief in the gods; 
and there could be little doubt that the Ionian philosophy 
and science were doing this. 

The political opponents of Pericles made use of this 

feeling to injure Pericles through his friends. About 437 
12 



164 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

b. c. the attack began. Phidias was accused of taking 
gold from the great statue of Athena of the Parthenon. 
He is said to have died in prison. Anaxagoras, an intimate 
friend of Pericles, was tried for godlessness and condemned 
to death, but he fled from Athens and escaped the sentence. 
The bitterness of party hatred did not spare Aspasia. Her 
name, too, was dragged into court on a base and unfounded 
charge of immorality and godlessness. Pericles had to 
exert all his power to secure an acquittal. Thus Athens 
repaid the proud and silent man who had guided the policies 
of the city so long and faithfully. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, ch. 14; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek 
Civilization, pp. 123-149; Botsford, History of the Orient and Greece, 
179-189; Capps, Homer to Theocritus, ch. 8, 9," Tarbell, History of Greek 
Art, ch. 3, 7, 8; Bury, History of Greece, pp. 367-378; Sophocles, 
Antigone (Plumptre's translation.) 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Story of Prometheus. — Dictionaries of Classical Antiquities under 

"Prometheus"; Fairbanks, Mythology of Greece and Rome, pp. 
80-81. 

2. The Greek Theater. — Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, ch. 12; 

Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, pp. 112-118. 

3. Pericles as an Orator. — Read the funeral oration delivered by 

him in the year 431 B. C. ; Thucydides II, ch. 34-54 (in Fling, 
Source Book, pp. 178-186, and Bury, pp. 404-407). 

4. The Literary Ability of Aspasia. — The dialogue, "Menexenus" 

of Plato. 



CHAPTER XVI 

THE POWER OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE BROKEN: 
PELOPONNESIAN WAR 

206. The Peloponnesian War.— Under Pericles, the Athe- 
nian democracy had entered upon a career of intellectual 
and commercial progress which astonished the other Greek 
city-states, and aroused their envy. Athens seemed to 
be the home of a new movement which was about to de- 
stroy the old ideas of life that the Greeks had held. Her 
ambition for empire had threatened also to change the 
political boundaries of Greece, and to bring about unity 
upon the mainland as she had brought about unity in that 
portion of the Greek world which belonged to the Delian 
League. 

As Athens stood for progress and change, so Sparta stood 
for the old ways and the old thoughts in Greece. The idea 
of the rule of the people, democracy, was contrary to all 
Spartan teaching and feeling, contrary to her own demand 
upon the Spartans for absolute submission of the individual 
citizen to the will of the state. Out of this contrast arose 
a war which involved almost all the Greek states. The 
leaders on the two sides were Athens and Sparta, Athens 
at the head of the Delian League, Sparta as leader of the 
forces of the Peloponnesian League. The war lasted, 
with irregular intermissions, from 431 to 404 b. c, and is 
called the "Peloponnesian War." 

207. Causes and Divisions of the War.— The causes of the 
war were many .and deep-seated. The most important 
are these: 

1. The idea of uniting so many of the Greek states under 
one head, as Athens had done in the Delian League, was con- 
trary to the old love for independence among the city-states. 

165 



166 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

2. The growth of commerce at Athens had interfered with 
the commerce of other cities, especially Corinth. Corinth was a 
member of the Peloponnesian League, and insisted that the 
League should take up her cause. 

3. The attempt of Athens to form a land empire in central 
( i recce had aroused the fear and hatred of the states around her. 
They were afraid that they would lose the right to rule them- 
selves. 

The Peloponnesian War is divided for convenience into 
three periods. The first extends from 431 to 421 b. c. The 
second covers the great Athenian expedition against the 
merchant city of Syracuse, called the Sicilian Expedition, 
415-413 b. c. The final period extends from 412 to 404 
b. c. and ends with the surrender of Athens. 

208. The Historian Thucydides. — The history of this war 
was written by an Athenian, Thucydides, who took part, 
as a general, in the early years of the war. In 424 b. c. he 
was banished from Athens, and spent the remaining time 
of the war in gathering material for his history. 

Thucydides ranks among the very greatest of the world's 
historians. Though an Athenian, his work shows but few 
traces of prejudice in favor of his native city. It is marked 
by keen judgment, insight into the causes of events and their 
effects, and a- literary style which of itself would have made 
his book remarkable. In the field of historical writing, 
as in the drama, in sculpture, and in architecture, Athens 
produced in Thucydides one of the world's geniuses. 

209. First Period of the War, 431-421 B. C— Pericles, then 
an old man, was the directing spirit at the outset of the 
war. His plan of campaign was to use the naval strength 
of the Delian League to harass the coastline of some of the 
members of the Peloponnesian League, and to destroy their 
commerce. Sparta and her followers were strong only 
upon land. All they could do, therefore, was to march into 
Attica and ravage the country, burning the crops, and 
destroying the olive groves, up to the great walls of the city. 
Meantime the ships of the Athenians brought food from 
outside into the harbor of the Piraeus. So long as Athens 



POWER OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE BROKEN 167 

retained her supremacy on the sea she seemed invincible; 
but the fighting strength of the city was lessened by a great 
plague which broke out in the crowded city in the year 
430 b. c, and lasted for several years. In 429 b. c. 
Pericles himself fell a victim to it, along with thousands of 
others. 

The war dragged on for ten years. It was waged with 
cruelty and bitterness upon both sides, but without decisive 
results. At last, when the leaders of the war party, Cleon 
at Athens and Brasidas in Sparta, had both fallen in the 
same battle, in the attack upon the Thracian city of Am- 
phipolis which was held by Brasidas, the contestants tired 
of the endless fighting. In 421 b. c. a treaty was made, 
called the Peace of Nicias after the Athenian general who 
negotiated it. This left matters much as they were when 
the war broke out. 

210. The Sophists and the New Teaching. — Just before 
the Peloponnesian War, there arose in Greece a class of 
men called Sophists, whose business was that of lectur- 
ing and teaching. After the Persian Wars the commercial 
and political life of the Greeks had grown far broader. 
With the growth of democracy also, the citizens of Athens 
felt that they needed a wider education than that afforded 
by the old subjects, reading, writing, arithmetic, music, 
and the poems of Homer. The Sophists arose to meet this 
demand. They traveled about from place to place, teaching 
for pay, a thing which seemed wrong to many Greeks of 
that time. Among the subjects in which they gave in- 
struction were rhetoric and the art of public speaking, 
geometry, the science of military tactics, and the handling 
of weapons. 

Although their teaching was valuable in many respects, 
the Sophists were regarded by many as men dangerous to 
the state. For they attacked the Greek religion, saying that 
it was not founded on common sense. They said that one 
could never know whether the gods existed or not, and that 
no standard of right living could be set up which was true 
for all men. 



L68 THE IIISToky OF GREECE 

211. The Opposition to this New Learning: Aristophanes. — 

The opposition to the Sophists w:is voiced in the Greek 

comedies of that lime. Willi biting wit and ridicule the 
comedy-writer, Aristophanes, mocked their pretense of 
knowing so many things, their love of arguing fine points, 
and their custom of accepting money for teaching. 
In Aristophanes the remarkable city of Athens gave birth 
to another genius, a man acknowledged to be unsur- 
passed in the field of comedy. He was of the aristocratic 
party, opposed to the desire for empire which Pericles 
represented. Therefore Pericles, too, became a target for 
his witty sullies, and Aristophanes called him the "onion- 
headed Zens," because of his majestic and dignified bearing 
and the peculiar shape of his head. 

212. Alcibiades, the New Leader. The Sophists taughl 
thai each man must he I he judge of his own actions. This 
doctrine tended to make an act which would he advanta- 
geous to one man seem right to him. They urged the 
individual to look out for himself, with no thought Tor the 

rights of others. The result of such teaching was to make 

men self-seeking and egoistic. The man who became Leader 

of the democratic parly at Athens after the Peace of Nicias, 

AJcibiades, the nephew of Pericles, was a typical product of 
such ideas, He combined in himself the most prominent 

virtues and Weaknesses Of the Greek character. Handsome 

in person, of brilliant mental powers, he was ambitious for 
himself first of all, tricky in his political relations, head- 
strong, and willful. 

A story of his boyhood, related in Plutarch's Life of Alci- 
biades, illustrates these last traits. 

Another time, as he played a1 dice in the street, being then 
but a child, a Loaded cart came t hat way, when it was his t urn to 
throw. At first he called to the driver to stop, because he was 

in the way over which I he cart was to pass. The driver gave 
him no attention and drove on; the rest i^ the hoys divided 

and gave him way. Bui Alcibiades threw himself on his face 

before tin 1 cart, stretched himself out, and bade the cartel- pass 
on now if he would. This so startled the man that he pulled 



POWER OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE BROKEN 169 

back his horses, while all that saw it were terrified; and crying 
out they ran to Alcibiade , 

Tin-, ambitious young man realized that hi position in 
political life at Athens would depend upon his bringing the 
state to some great action which would redound to the 
glory of Athens, and -o add to his own reputation. 

213. The Sicilian Expedition, 415 413 B. C. A pari of the 
Athenians had Long been eager to extend their influence 
to the west, to lay hold of the opportunity which was offered 
by the continual quarrels of the Greek cities in Sicily, and to 
build up their commerce, possibly a western empire, on that 
island. Alcibiades urged the Athenian to send a great 
expedition to help an allied city which was in trouble. 
The keen eyes of Thucydides detected their motive and the 
personal r< of Alcibiades. He says: 

They virtuously protested that they were going to assist their 
own kinsmen and their newly acquired allies, but the simple 
truth was that they aspired to the empire of Sicily. * * * Alci- 
biades was hoping that he might be the conqueror of Sicily and 
Carthage; and thai iica would repair his private fortuo 
and gain him money as well as glory. (Thucydides, VT, 6, 15.) 

The armament sent out by Athens was an immense one 
considering the resources of the city; it included 134 tri- 
remes, besides transport ships, and 5,100 hoplites. The 
number of oarsmen, soldiers, and officers must have been 
over 20,000. Alcibiades was named as one of the three 
generals in charge of the expedition. No sooner had the 
fleel sailed away than his enemies had him called back, to 
stand trial for having mocked at the sacred rites of the gods 
and for having mutilated their images. He knew that to 
return meant a death sentence; so Alcibiades betrayed his 
country, fled to Sparta, and helped the Spartans in <:vcry 
he could. 

214. Fate of the Expedition to Sicily. — The expedition lost 
its real head when Alcibiades deserted. The- year 111 b. c. 
was spent in besieging the city of Syracuse, which was on 
the verge of surrender when Gylippus, a Spartan general 



170 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

of greal ability, came bo conduct the defense, He was so 
successful that in 413 b. c. the Athenians were 4 forced to 
scud reinforcements, 7;> triremes, 5,000 hoplites, and light- 
armed troops in addition, to aid in the siege. On land 
and by sea the Athenians now met reverses. At last they 
determined to escape in their triremes and sail back to 
Athens, but the Syracusans had blocked up the entrance 
to the harbor, and there, in the narrow harbor o[ Syracuse 
where the triremes had scarcely room to maneuver, the 
Athenians met. a terrible defeat. The troops then tried 
to cut their way through Sicily by land to a place oi safety. 
Hut they were overtaken by the Syracusans, and. cut down 
or taken prisoner almost to a man. The defeat o( this vast 
army meant ruin to the political power of Athens. Thucy- 
dides has given the following estimate of its importance: 

Of all the Hellenic actions which took place in this war, or 
indeed oi all Hellenic actions which are on record, this was the 
greatest the most glorious to the victors, the most ruinous 
to the vanquished) for they were utterly and at all points de- 
feated, and their sufferings were prodigious. Fleet and army 
perished from the face o( the earth; nothing was saved, and of 
the many who went forth few returned home. Thus ended the 
Sicilian expedition. (Thucydides', Nil. 87.) 

215. The Last Period of the War, 412 404 B. C. -With 
her ships gone and her money scattered, Athens still had 
the vitality and courage to hold her own for eight long 
years. Her allies revolted, neutral states joined the Polo- 
ponnesian League against her, and her ablest son, AJcibiades, 
was using his genius to guide the Spartan campaign. These 
were dark days for Athens. 

For a time, when Alcibiades, through a political revolu- 
tion in his native city, was recalled from banishment, and 
permitted to come to the aid of Athens (111 107 B.C.), 

there seemed hope of ultimate victory. The Spartans, 

however, had at last Learned that they could defeat Athens 
only by meeting her successfully on the sea. They 

prepared a great fleet and sent it to Asia Minor to bring 



POWEB OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE BROKEN 171 

the cities of the Delian League bo revolt; but the military 
genius of Alcibiades still wrested victories from them. The 
Greeks seemed unable to bring the war <<> an end without 
outside help, so both sides began to appeal to Persia for 
aid. Persia was willing to give assistance in the hope that 
she could regain possession of the coast of Asia Minor. In 
ion i',. c. Hie Great King sent his energetic son, Cyrus, a 
young man less than 20 years of age, to take charge of the 
western satrapies of Lydia, Phrygia, and Cappadocia. At 
the same time Sparta sent to Asia Minor the ablest general 
and diplomat she had produced in years, Lysander. These 
two men agreed to combine their interest against Alliens 
for the advantage of their countries and their great personal 
ambitions. 

Against this combination Alcibiades worked desperately 
for Athens. In 107 b. c, after an insignificant defeat, he was 
deposed from his command by the fickle Athenian people. 

Thus Athens for the second time, at the crucial moment, 

of the war, deprived herself of the services of the erratic 
genius who might still have saved her. 

216. Battle of the Goat-Rivers and the Fall of 
Athens. In 405 b. c. Lysander surprised the Athenian 
fleet at zEgos-potami (Goat-Rivers) on the Hellespont,, when 

the sailors were scattered on shore, and the ships unprepared. 

Alcibiades, who was living near by, warned the Athenian 
generals of this very danger, but they paid no attention 

to him. Almost, without a led tie. the Spartans captured L60 

Athenian triremes. This was the deathblow to W^ Athe- 
nian power on the sea. 

The city of Athens was surrounded and blockaded by 
sen,, but only when the people were dying of hunger did 

Athens surrender (101 b. C.). Corinth mid Thebes wished 

to destroy their hated enemy, but the Spartans were more 
generous. The terms of peace were that Athens was to give 
up .all her fleet; the Long Walls to the Piraeus and the forti- 
fications round the PiraBUS were to be pulled down; and .all 
the states of the Delian League were to be made \'r<-<'. The 
war resulted in the sacrifice of the Greek cities of Asia 



172 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



Minor to Persian rule, and in giving Persia the opportunity 
of stirring up continual trouble among the free Greek states. 
Thus the Athenian Empire, with its promise of Hellenic 
unity under a great leader, was shattered. Still Athens 
retained great influence, even politically. As intellectual 
leader she remained without a rival for over a century; 
and always, until the ancient pagan world changed into the 
mediaeval Christian world, she retained 
honor and influence as an intellectual 
and artistic center. 

217. Euripides, the Poet of the New 
Thought (485-406 B. C.).— In the dramas 
of Euripides, the turmoil of the times of 
the Peloponnesian War at Athens is most 
distinctly revealed. In his tragedies all 
the new thoughts of the Sophists are ex- 
pressed and set before the Athenian peo- 
ple. His plays therefore popularized the 
religious skepticism of the Sophistic school 
and, more than any other single agency, 
spread among the mass of the Greeks the 
lack of faith in their old gods. They 
lack the smoothness and artistic harmony 
of Sophocles' dramas and the deep re- 
ligious note of the tragedies of ^Eschylus. 
But Euripides made the Athenians think. 
He is the first poet to enter into and 
attempt to portray the thoughts and 
emotions of women. An example of this 
may be seen in his drama called Medea. 
It deals with the married life of Jason, the 
hero of the myth of the Argonautic expedition, and Medea, 
the barbarian sorceress who had saved him. Euripides 
changed and added to the old tale as ho wished. The drama 
deals with the terrible anger of Medea, when Jason wished to 
marry another woman, a princess of Corinth. In order to 
revenge herself upon Jason, Medea sent a gift to the princess, 
a beautiful robe which was steeped in a potent poison. 




Medea. 

A Wall-painting from 
Herculaneum. 



POWER OF THE ATHENIAN EMPIRE BROKEN 173 

When the poor princess put it on, it clung to her skin and 
burned her to death. Then Medea, knowing that punish- 
ment must fall upon her and her children for that deed, 
killed both of them, although she loved them dearly. Since 
she was a goddess, she was able to fly away in a chariot 
drawn by dragons, and find refuge at Athens. 

The old mythological stories seem strange in the modern 
form which Euripides gave them. The people of his own 
day did not understand him. They preferred the serene 
and deep sorrow of Sophocles to the wild emotions of the 
dramas of Euripides. Euripides influenced the stage of 
the succeeding centuries, however, much more than his 
two great rivals, iEschylus and Sophocles. 

References for Outside Reading 

Fling, Source Book, ch. 7; Plutarch, Lives of Nicias, Alcibiades, and 
Lysander; Botsford, Orient and Greece, ch. 10, 11; Mahaffy, Survey of 
Greek Civilization, pp. 149-159; Oman, History of Greece, ch. 26-34; 
Bury, History of Greece, ch. 10-11; Capps, Homer to Theocritus, ch. 10. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Siege and Capture of the Spartans at Sphacteria in 425 

b. c.—Thucydides IV, 26-41 (in Fling, Source Book, pp. 194-204); 
Bury, pp. 429-438. 

2. Stories About Alcibiades. — Plutarch, Alcibiades; Plato, Sym- 

posium (Jowett's translation), vol. 1, pp. 582 to end. 

3. The Destruction of the Athenian Armament before Syra- 

cuse. — Thucydides VII, ch. 69-87; Fling, Source Book, pp. 
213-229. 

4. The Fall of Athens. — Fling, Source Book, pp. 232-238. 



CHAPTER XVII 

THE WESTERN GREEKS ON THE DEFENSIVE AGAINST 
CARTHAGE: THE FATAL LACK OF UNITY 

218. The Carthaginians Invade Sicily. Al the time of the 
Persian invasion of ( Ireece led by Xerxes (480 b. c), we noted 
that the Phoenician city of Carthage made an attack upon 
some of fche ( rreek cities of Sicily. These two great powers, 
one in the East and the oilier in the West, had evidently 
conic to an agreement to nil nek ( Greece from both si<lrs, and 
crush the Greek states between them. In ili<' last years of 
the Peloponnesian war, when Persia, induced by the des- 
perate strife between Sparta and Alliens, again began to 
interest herself in Greek political affairs, Carthage found the 
time favorable for carrying out her desire to subdue all of 
Sicily. The reasons for this design were no doubl primarily 
commercial. She was compelled, whenever possible, to 
resist the growth of Greek power in Sicily, in order to pro- 
tect her cities and her trade in the western pari of the 

island. National pride, and the memory of her defeat in 
480 B. C. at Ilimera, must also have played I heir parts as 

motives for the attack. A good opportunity was given to 
Carthage to begin hostilities through a requesl for protection 
sen! her by one of I he ( rreek cities which had favored Al hens 
against her Dorian neighbors. In the year 409 b. c, I he 
Carthaginians sent over a great army, which between 409 
and 405 b. c. captured almost all I he Greek cities along the 

soul hern coast of Sicily. 

219. Rise of Dionysius. But (his steady advance was 
checked by a capable though cruel and unscrupulous young 
man of Syracuse named Dionysius. He made use of the 
popular outcry in Syracuse against the lack of success of 
the Greek generals, to make himself tyranl of that city 
(405 h. a). This position he was able to maintain until 

171 



THK WESTERN GREEKS AND CAkTHAClN 



175 




.uin L i ' • v* Mob 1 " 11 



I.lljli;..,,,,/ l"' 

/ 



Ti.KkiTOKV \\\> DEPENDENCIES 
OF DlONYSIl 8 OF SYRACUSE. 

western end of the island. 



his death ill 367 B. C. His first move was to further his own 
ambitions l>y sacrificing the Greek cities already captured 
by the Carthaginians. The treaty which he concluded 

with Carthage acknowledged her 
as mistress of the cities which she 

then held. Dionysius was in re- 
turn acknowledged by Carthage 
as sovereign of Syracuse. 

220. His Punic Wars.— After 
several years spent in establishing 
his own power, the tyrant of 
Syracuse proved that his betrayal 

of the ( ireek towns was justified. 
In 398 B.C. he began to drive 
hack the Carthaginian forces to- 
ward the west and even to attack 
them in their own stronghold, the 
In four successive wars, coming 
at intervals (luring his long life as ruler of Syracuse, though 
several times near utter defeat, he proved himself a staunch 
champion of ( Ireek liberty. I lis success was partially due to 
the deadly plagues which decimated 
the Punic armies, hut, more to his own 
energy and originality. The catapult 
is an invention of a corps of engineers 
who were induced by Dionysius to 
enter a contest in the building of such 
machines of war. It was a siege- 
engine which could throw heavy 
missiles, either large arrows, or vast 
i « »nes of t hree or four hundred pounds 
weight, to a distance of three or four 
hundred yards. It was used, much as 
our modern siege-guns, to make a 
breach in the wall of a city in order to admit the besieging 
troops. Dionysius must be given a place beside Miltiades 
and Themistocles as an important figure in the long war 
between the western civilization of Greece and the eastern 




\ Ballxsta, oh Stone- 

'! HROWER. 



I 76 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

civilization of Persia and Carthage, which broke out again 
and again in the lift 1 1 and fourth centuries b. c. 

221. Timoleoii Checks another Punic Invasion. The em- 
pire which Dionysius had founded by his prowess in war 
and his ounning in politics included :>ll of Sicily, except the 
very western end, and, in addition, the Greek city-states 
of soul hern 1 taly. 

The rule of this territory was inherited by his sou, Diony- 
sius 11, as tyrant. In his lifetime, the sway o\' Syracuse 
over the other Sicilian cities, and the possibility o\' building 
a single Greek state united againsl (he ever-watchful mighl 
i^ Carthage, were lessened by civil strife in Syracuse itself. 

'This struggle ended in oil B, C, when (he weak and \ ieious 

Dionysius the Younger was deposed by a man sent ou1 
From Corinth to pu1 a stop to the anarchy in her colony 
o{ Syracuse. 

The man chosen by the mother city of Corinth, one Timo- 
leon, had held himself aloof from tin 1 politics ( >f his native 

state for many years. His retirement was due to the fact 

licit he had been concerned in the murder o( his own brother, 

who had set himself up as t y rani in (Y.rinth. Timoleon, who 

had s.-ivcd the life oi his brother in battle, pleaded with him 
to give back the liberty i^\' his native city, bu1 vainly. In his 
presence, the tyrant brother was (ail down by the swords o( 

t wo o\' Timoleon's friends. 

Knowing the worth o\ this man, despite the stain upon 

him, the Corinthians scut him to set the affairs o( Sicily 

in order (344 336 b. a). He overthrew the tyrants of the 

Sicilian cities, and so united their forces licit he was able 

to worst a larger body o( Carthaginians at the battle o( the 
Crimisus River in 339 b, c. The mighty Punic city was 
again attempting to force baok the Greeks from tin 1 western 
end of the island, taking advantage o\' tin 1 civil war among 
the Greeks. After this task had been accomplished, Timo- 
leon modestly retired to private life, living in honor in the 
city whose power he had, for the time being, restored. 

222. Sicily after Timoleon. We cannot consider the war 
between the Greeks and Carthaginians ^ov the possession 



THE WESTERN GREEKS AND CARTHAGE 177 

of Sicily as ended until the Roman republic, as successor to 
Syracuse, the old leader of the Greek communities, carries 
the contest to its final issue. At intervals the fighting 
breaks out anew, success being now with one side, now with 
the other. In 278 b. c, the reckless and knightly Pyrrhus, 
king of Epirus, was invited by the Sicilian Greeks to take 
command of their forces, to end tin; civil wars in their 
cities, and to lead them on against the old enemy, Carthage. 
Though quite successful in his war against the Punic armies, 
Pyrrhus was unable to keep the loyalty of his Sicilian allies. 
After two years in Sicily he returned to Lower Italy, where, 
as champion of the Greek cities of Italy, he met defeat 
(275 b. c.) before the citizen-militia of the young and vig- 
orous Roman Republic. In dealing with Roman history 
we shall see how Rome and Carthage fought for twenty- 
three years, from 264 to 241 b. c, for the possession of 
Sicily. At the close of this war, called the First Punic 
War, the fair island fell to Rome and became a province 
of that state, whereupon its history merges with that of 
Rome. The story of this mighty struggle is ended by the 
awful doom meted out by the Roman Senate to the proud 
Phoenician city in 146 b. c, after three years of the most 
hopeless and desperate fighting. 

223. Greece after the Peloponnesian War. — When Athens 
surrendered to Lysander in 404 b. c, Sparta was indeed in 
an enviable position. She had fulfilled the task which 
she had set herself at the opening of the war, that of freeing 
the Greeks from the bondage put on them by Athens. 
But instead of giving the cities of the Delian League the right 
to rule themselves as they would, Sparta sent to each a 
military officer called a " harmost," with a garrison of soldiers, 
to govern in her own interests. The tribute formerly paid 
to Athens was now paid into Sparta's treasury. The island 
cities and the other members of the Delian League found 
that they had merely exchanged Athenian for Spartan rule. 
But the Spartan state had attained this position by the aid 
of the Persian king, and upon this aid the maintenance of 
her power depended. Through Sparta's agency, Persia had 



178 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



again become a vital factor in Greek politics, and this gives 
us the key to the political developments of the next thirty 
years. 

224. The March of the Ten Thousand.— Cyrus, the 
younger brother of the Persian king, Artaxerxes, had been 
a staunch supporter of the Spartan Lysander in the last 
years of the Peloponnesian War. This brilliant and am- 
bitious young 




Persian, holding 
the position of 
royal governor 
in Asia Minor, 
schemed to 
overthrow his 
brother, the 
rightful king, and 
succeed him. He 
gathered in addi- 
tion to a large 
body of Persian 
troops, a force of 
somewhat over 
10,000 Greek 
soldiers, recruit- 
ed chiefly by an 
exiled Spartan general. In the year 401 b. c, Cyrus felt him- 
self equipped and ready for the long march from Sardis against 
the king at Babylon. An adventurous young Athenian, 
Xenophon, a pupil of the great Socrates, joined the ex- 
pedition. He has written a wonderful account of the death 
of the spirited Cyrus in battle, the murder of the Greek 
generals, and the escape of the Greeks from Babylonia, 
in a book called the Anabasis, or " March Inland." After 
Cyrus had been killed, his Persian troops immediately 
came to an understanding with his brother, the king, and 
the ten thousand Greeks found themselves surrounded by 
hordes of Persians near the city of Babylon, almost 1,500 
miles distant from Sardis. Lack of proper provisions for 



Route Traveled by the 10,000 Greeks under 
Cyrus the Younger. 



THE FATAL LACK OF UNITY 179 

the trip through the desert cut them off from returning as 
they had come. The Greeks refused to surrender to tin- 
king, but started northward through the mountains of 
Armenia. After eight months, though they suffered in- 
tensely from the cold and were harassed by the native 
mountaineers, they safely reached the Black Sea near the 
Greek city of Trapezus. 

This march is important because it shows the military 
spirit and resource of the Greek soldiers, and caused the 
Greeks to see that the power of Persia was not so great as 
they had supposed. It is another brief chapter in the long 
history of the Greco-Persian Wars. Coming almost midway 
between Xerxes' invasion of Greece and Alexander's in- 
vasion of Persia, it marks the point at which the Greeks 
began to talk and plan for an offensive war against the 
Persian king. Nor did this desire die out until a military 
genius came, in the person of Alexander the Great, to bring 
it to fulfillment. 

225. Agesilaus and the War in Asia Minor. — The effects of 
the March of the Ten Thousand were almost immediately 
felt. For when the Persian king tried to reconquer the 
Greek cities of Asia Minor, they appealed to Sparta, which 
had been put in a position of hostility to the king by her 
support of Cyrus. Sparta bade the Persian governor cease 
his attempts to subdue the Greek cities. War broke out 
between the two powers in 400 b. c, and did not entirely 
cease until 387 b. c. In the years from 396 to 394 b. c, it 
was carried on very successfully by the lame Spartan king, 
Agesilaus, who had in mind a plan of marching into the 
interior of Asia and striking at the heart of the Persian 
kingdom. In this hope he was disappointed by a new turn 
in political affairs in Greece, which made his presence at 
home a necessity. 

226. Restoration of Athens' Power.— This event was noth- 
ing less than a revolt of the allies of Sparta, who were angered 
at her increasing insolence, and her selfishness in using the 
victory over Athens to strengthen herself. The hatred 
against the Spartan harmosts and the oligarchic govern- 

13 



180 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

ment, which she everywhere set up, had grown from year 
to year. The yoke of Athens had not lain so heavily upon 
the cities of her league as did now the hand of their liber- 
ator, Sparta, upon the same cities. The Persians took ad- 
vantage of this growing hostility to the despotic rule of 
Sparta, and helped with their money to organize a general 
Anti-Spartan War (394 b. c). An Athenian admiral, 
Conon, in command of a great Persian fleet, annihilated 
the Spartan naval power off the Peninsula of Cindus. With 
this defeat the Spartan power over the cities of Asia Minor 
and of the iEgean Islands was almost entirely destroyed at 
one blow. In Greece itself, Athens, Corinth, Argos, and 
Thebes joined in a defensive alliance against Sparta. Athens 
profited most by the support of Persia. She was able, by 
the use of money supplied by the Great King, to rebuild the 
Long Walls and to fortify the Pirseus again. She regained 
a number of her old-time dependencies, especially about the 
Propontis, and must again be considered one of the powerful 
cities of Greece. 

227. Peace of Antalcidas. — Seeing that she could not fight 
successfully against Greeks and Persians, Sparta tried in 
every way to win over Persia to her side. For several years 
negotiations were carried on with this end in view. Finally, 
in 387 b. c, the Persian King dictated the terms of a peace 
between himself, the Spartans, and the other Greek states, 
which reads as follows: 

King Artaxerxes thinks it just that the cities in Asia, and the 
islands, Clazomense and Cyprus, should belong to him; and that 
the other Hellenic cities, small and large, should be independent, 
with the exception of Lemnos, Imbros, and Scyros. These are 
to belong to the Athenians, as before. Whichever party to the 
war will not accept this peace, I [the King] and those who agree 
with me will make war upon them by land and sea. 

This is called the King's Peace or the Peace of Antalcidas, 
after the Spartan diplomat whose cleverness put the weak- 
ened state of Sparta again in a strong position. It is pitiable 
to see orders thus given to the states of Hellas by that Orien- 



THE FATAL LACK OF UNITY 181 

tal king through whose realm a small force of 10,000 Greeks 
had marched unharmed but thirteen years before. This 
situation was due solely to the bitter hatred of the Greek 
states one for another. Because of this feeling and the 
wars it aroused, the plan of Agesilaus for an all-Hellenic 
movement against Persia had come to naught. Before 
such a union could be made, the cities of Greece had to lose 
their independence, and with it something of their sectional 
bitterness, under a power which could break them all and 
weld the pieces into the form of a new empire. 

228. Examples of Spartan Aggression.— The doom of the 
Spartan Empire, built upon the ruins and after the model 
of the Athenian Empire, was only delayed for a term of 
years. Unable to learn the lesson clearly taught by the 
revolt of 394 b. c, Sparta continued to follow her former tact- 
less and brutal methods in her desire to extend her sway. Jeal- 
ous and fearful of the rise of any new power, she interfered to 
break up a growing federation of cities in the peninsula of 
Chalcidice. As the Spartan troops marched northward 
through Bceotia, one of her captains, contrary to all justice 
and the peace that then existed, suddenly led a force into 
Thebes (383 or 382 b. c.) and seized the acropolis. He then set 
up a government which would look after the interests of 
Sparta, and maintained it with Spartan troops. Four 
years later, after Thebes had freed herself, another Spartan 
commander tried to repeat this trick and seize the Piraeus 
by night, much as the Theban citadel had been taken. 
But the attempt was not successful. 

229. How Thebes was Freed, 379-372 B. C— Just before 
this event occurred, a number of patriotic Thebans who 
were living as fugitives in Athens, led by a young nobleman 
named Pelopidas, came into their native city at the risk 
of their lives (379 b. a). Disguised as women, they were 
admitted to a banquet at which the Theban rulers appointed 
by Sparta were present. They killed these traitors with their 
daggers, and then captured the Spartan troops in the citadel. 
Thus Thebes was freed, though she had to defend herself 
for the next eight years in Bceotia itself. The attempt to 



182 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

seize the Piraeus, recounted above, led to a long and unin- 
teresting war, lasting for six years, between Athens and 
Sparta. Naturally, as both cities were fighting against 
the Spartans, the situation led to an alliance between those 
ancient enemies, Athens and Thebes. 

230. The Peace Congress at Sparta.— In the spring of 371 
b. c, the Greek states, weary of continual war, sent envoys 
to a congress which met at Sparta to discuss the terms 
of a general peace. They agreed that all the cities should 
be free, as had been stated in the King's Peace, and that 
the larger cities should withdraw their governors and 
troops from the smaller places which were thus ruled. 
Sparta took the oath for herself and her allies. Epami- 
nondas, leader of the Theban embassy, wished in like 
manner to take the oath for Thebes as representing all 
Bceotia. This would have given Thebes, in the eyes of the 
Greek world, a definite right to the position of legitimate 
head of the Boeotian cities. But this Sparta did not wish. 
So the aged king, Agesilaus, struck Thebes' name off the 
list of cities which had signed the peace. This act meant 
war for Thebes, and that too without the support of Athens, 
which was growing jealous of the increasing strength of 
her Boeotian neighbor. 

231. Epaminondas.— All Greece knew that Sparta would 
straightway send her armies into Bceotia to punish the 
insolence of Thebes. All Greece expected that that punish- 
ment would be swift and sure, that Thebes would be ut- 
terly destroyed, or lose her leadership among the Boeotian 
towns. But the Thebans had been expecting this war and 
were ready for it; for a man of genius had arisen among 
them to guide the state, and push it into the front rank of 
the political powers of his time. This was Epaminondas, 
an intimate friend of that Pelopidas who had freed the city 
of the Spartan garrison. Well educated, able, and modest, 
as a man he represents one of the highest types of the Greek 
gentleman that we shall meet. Like Pericles, he was an 
eloquent public speaker who seldom talked. His eloquence, 
therefore, was the more impressive because rarely used, 



THE FATAL LACK OF UNITY 183 

Aided by Pelopidas, he had trained the Thebans in their 
defensive wars against Sparta. They had organized a 
band of 300 hoplites chosen from the best and most ath- 
letic of the young men of the city. This Sacred Band, as 
it was called, was made up of pairs of devoted and true 
friends who swore to fight and die together. They were 
led by Pelopidas, who never failed in his stanch devotion 
to his abler friend, Epaminondas. 

232. The Battle of Leuctra. — Although he was inferior to 
Pericles as a statesman, Epaminondas proved himself a 
genius in military tactics. Near the town of Leuctra he 
met the Spartan army, led by King Cleombrotus, and 
gave it a thorough beating. Out 
of 700 Spartan citizens, 400 were i i,— — ,,— - — , B 



slain, including the king himself. ' ^<^ 

This surprising result was due to a ]{ 1 1 ^ *o 

new method of arranging his troops d 

devised by Epaminondas. Greek Formation at the Battle oj 

, , r , . Leuctra. 

armies were accustomed to ngnt , _ , . _ , 

. . . 1 A, Heavy Attacking Column of 

m three diVlSlQllSj left, Center, and Epaminondas; S.Sacred Band of the 

right, With the line Of battle from Thebaic, Flanking Column of the 
° ' Spartans; D, Spartan Battle-hne. 

eight to fifteen men deep. Battle 

was joined along the whole line at one time, each side moving 
forward obliquely in order to execute a flank attack on the 
end of the opposing line, for this was the side unprotected 
by the shield. The right was always the position of honor 
in the line. Epaminondas, however, weakened his right 
and center and massed his left in a heavy column, fifty men 
deep, over against the Spartan citizen troops led by their 
king. His weak center and right advanced somewhat later 
than the heavy column upon the left, on the theory that the 
Spartan line would be already broken before they should 
engage. 

The blow struck by the powerful Theban left wing was 
irresistible. When the Spartan king fell, and many of his 
followers beside him, fighting as only the Spartans could 
fight, the Lacedaemonian allies retreated from the field. 
The novel tactics used by Epaminondas had won the day. 



184 THE HISTORY OF (IKEECE 

The results of this victory were the end of the despotic 
empire of Sparta, and the introduction of the attack by a 
heavy mass of troops. This idea was used, with important 
changes, by Philip of Macedon and developed into the 
famous Macedonian phalanx of the time after Alexander. 

233. Ten Years of Theban Rule.— Until his death in 361 
b. c, Epaminondas was the soul of Theban activity, and 
Thebes became through his talents the leading state of 
Greece. He led four invasions into the Peloponnesus 
to cripple further the influence of Sparta, and built two 
new cities, Megalopolis and Messene, to watch her and 
guard against a revival of her strength. As her leadership 
became more firmly established, just as Sparta had done 
before her, Thebes lost sight of the fact that her purpose 
had been to free the other cities from Spartan oppression. 
More and more she adopted the hated tactics of Sparta. 
Theban harmosts now ruled in some of the Peloponnesian 
cities, and Theban influence extended through Thessaly 
even to Macedonia. In 362 b. c, the continual broils in 
the Peloponnesus called Epaminondas out at the head of 
his troops against Sparta for the last time. At the battle 
of Mantinea, in the very moment of victory, he received a 
fatal thrust through the chest with a spear. With his 
death the leadership of Thebes may be said to have ceased, 
since it was founded on the genius of this man alone. 

234. Results of Theban Supremacy.— Though we may 
honor the genius of Epaminondas, we must nevertheless 
acknowledge that the results of his life-work were not 
important or lasting. The one positive thing which he 
did accomplish was to tear off from the cities of the Pelo- 
ponnesus the fetters of Spartan rule. This was not, how- 
ever, an unmixed good, for after the breaking of Sparta's 
power, civil strife, anarchy, and awful bloodshed mark the 
history of the old towns of the Peloponnesian League, 
which formerly had known peace under the stern hand of 
their leader. Greece needed a leader who could unite 
these towns, bring in new ideas of government, and put a 
stop to their petty wars and jealousies. Great and noble 




THE FATAL LACK OF UNITY 185 

as he was, Epaminondas did not see and meet this need. 
The main result of the years of fighting during the time of the 
Spartan and Theban rule was that the Greeks weakened their 
strength greatly. When the Macedonian kingdom began to ex- 
pand against them, they were no longer able to meet its attack. 

235. Socrates. — There lived at the time of the Peloponne- 
sian War a man whose life-work suggests in some ways the 
life of Christ. He was a short and comical figure, with 
bulging eyes, a snub-nose, and high knotted forehead. 
His face was ugly, but his mind was great, and his soul 
and his life were clean. This man, 

Socrates, felt that he had a divine 

mission to teach young men, and 

call them to lives of virtue and 

wisdom. Unlike the Sophists, he 

never took pay for his teaching. 

Like the Sophists, he taught that 

man alone was the proper subject 

of study for men. So his chief 

maxim was this, "Know thyself." '■•% 

He taught that a bad action always 

harmed the man who did it. Now, 

no man really wishes to harm him- Bu8T OF Socrates. 

self; therefore if a man can tell 

good from evil, he will never do the evil since it will harm 

him. So he came to the conclusion that virtue is the 

same as knowledge. Socrates is called the founder of the 

science of ethics, which is the study of right conduct and 

character. Xenophon was one of his pupils and he has left 

us, in the Memorabilia, a record of some of the conversations 

which Socrates held with all kinds of people. 

236. Death of Socrates.— The ideas of Socrates were of a 
kind to make men better. Those of the Sophists tended 
to remove from men all moral restraint, and to make them 
utterly selfish in their ambitions. The selfish and unscru- 
pulous Alcibiades is perhaps a typical result of the moral 
skepticism of the Sophists. Now Alcibiades had been in 
his earlier years devoted to Socrates, who had saved his 



186 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

life in battle. When the Athenian state was brought to 
the verge of ruin by the traitorous conduct of Alcibiades, 
unthinking people laid the blame for this upon the teach- 
ings of Socrates. They wrongly called him a Sophist. In fact, 
the comic poet, Aristophanes, chose him as the chief character 
in a comedy called the Clouds (produced in 423 b. a), 
which ridicules the Sophistic teachings with biting sarcasm. 
No doubt Socrates made himself hated by many Athe- 
nians because he went about asking questions of men whom 
he met, and showing them that they were really ignorant. 
In the despondent times after the Peloponnesian War the 
popular feeling turned strongly against Socrates. Finally, 
in 399 b. c, he was brought into court on the charge of 
" introducing new gods into the city," and " corrupting the 
youth." Although he might easily have run away, Socrates 
chose to remain and endure the death-penalty to which he 
was sentenced. In the prison, surrounded by his disciples, 
he drank the cup of hemlock poison. Like Christ, he wrote 
not a line. Through his disciples his moral and religious 
teachings were written and handed down to us. As in the 
case of Jesus, his persecution and death set the seal of 
triumph on his teachings. 

References for Outside Reading 

Plutarch, Life of Pelopidas; Fling, Source Book, ch. 8-10; Botsford, 
Orient and Greece, pp. 239-284; Oman, History of Greece, ch. 35-40; 
Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 157-164; Bury, History of 
Greece, ch. 12-15; Sankey, Spartan and Theban Supremacies. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Spartan Rule of the Greek Cities after the Pelopon- 

nesian War, as Seen in the Rule of the Thirty at 
Athens in 404-403 b. c. — Bury, History of Greece, pp. 505-513. 

2. Death of Socrates. — End of Plato's Phoedo in Jowett's Transla- 

tion, vol. 1, pp. 444-447; Church, Trial and Death of Socrates. 

3. Accusations Made against Socrates — Were they Justi- 

fied? — Plato's Apology (in Jowett or Church); Fling, Source 
Book, ch. 8. 

4. How the Ten Thousand Came out upon the Black Sea. — 

Xenophon, Anabasis, IV, ch. 7 to the end. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE UNITY OF GREECE BROUGHT ABOUT BY 
THE MACEDONIAN CONQUEST 

237. Revival of Athens. — While Thebes was gathering her 
strength for the revolt against the aggressive policy of 
Sparta, Athens too seized upon the opportunity offered 
by the general enmity against Sparta. In the year 377 
b. c. a new league was formed, under Athenian leadership, 
for the protection of the island states and the northern 
cities against Laconian oppression. The decree passed by 
the Athenian Boule and Assembly, at the founding of the 
new league, was inscribed upon a stone slab which still 
exists. Following is a translation of parts of it: 

In the Archonship of Nausinicus. Callibius, son of Cephisi- 
phon of the deme of Pseania, was Secretary. 

In the seventh prytany, which was held by the tribe Hippo- 
thontis, under the chairmanship of Charinus, of the deme 
Athmonon, a decree was passed by the Boule and the Assembly. 
Aristotle made the motion. 

May this decree be for the weal of the Athenians and the 
allies of the Athenians. In order that the Lacedaemonians may 
leave the Hellenes free to live in quiet according to their own 
constitutions and in secure possession of their property, the 
assembly has decreed as follows: 

If any of the Hellenes or of the barbarians, either those 
dwelling on the mainland [Asia Minor] or in the islands, except- 
ing those who are under the sway of the Great King, desire to 
be allies of the Athenians and their allies, they shall be free to do 
so, living under that constitution which they wish to have. 
They shall not be compelled to receive a garrison or any Athe- 
nian official overseer, nor to pay tribute, but shall stand in the 
same relation to the Athenians as do the Chians and Thebans 
and the other allies * * * From the year of the archonship of 

187 



188 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Nausinicus on, no Athenian magistrate or private citizen shall 
be allowed to possess either a house or an estate in the lands of 
the allies, whether obtained by purchase or under a mortgage 
* * * If any one shall attack, by land or sea, those who have 
joined the alliance, the Athenians shall aid them by land and 
sea to the full extent of their powers * * * The Secretary of the 
Boule shall have this decree engraved upon a stone slab and set 
up near the statue of Zeus the Liberator. The Treasurers of the 
Goddess [Athena] shall give the money for the inscribing of the 
decree, to the amount of sixty drachmas. 

The names of some of the cities which joined this alli- 
ance are then added. Diodorus, a Greek historian, tells 
us that, all in all, seventy cities entered the league. It 
was so arranged that Athens had much less power than 
in the Delian League of the previous century. For example, 
the other members of the alliance had an assembly which met 
at Athens; in this assembly Athens had no representative. 
Any action of the league had to pass this body and also the 
Athenian Assembly, separately. So Athens could not gain 
absolute power. The money which was assessed for the 
defense of the allies was not called a " tribute," but a " con- 
tribution." Though the alliance was a loose one, it enabled 
Athens again to become an important political factor among 
the Greek city-states. 

238. The Macedonians.— North of Thessaly there lived 
a Greek tribe which had assumed little of that high civiliza- 
tion which characterized the Ionian Greeks in the seventh 
and sixth centuries b. c. and the Athenians in the fifth. 
Their land, Macedon, lay outside the path from the Orient 
to the West. The forests still grew thickly in the mountains 
to the north and west. The people still lived in small 
villages and had not developed the city life, based upon 
manufacturing and trade, to be found in the fifth and fourth 
centuries in the Greek states to the South. 

Macedonian life and customs were rude as compared to 
those of Athens or Corinth. A man was not considered full 
grown and could not sit at the banquet with his companions 
until he had killed a wild boar. A cord about the waist 



THE UNITY OF GREECE 



189 



distinguished those who had never killed an enemy in 
battle. The form of government was very similar to that 
of the Homeric Greeks. The king's power, like that of 
an Homeric king, was limited by the nobles, who were 
called the " Companions," and by the assembly of free 
Macedonian peasantry. About the time of the Pelo- 
ponnesian War the modern ideas and the culture of the 
Athenians began 




to creep in. The 
refined Attic dia- 
lect began to re- 
place the rude 
M acedonian 
Greek as the 
official speech of 
the country. 
Poets and dram- 
a t i s t s, among 
them the greal 
Euripides, were 
invited to the 
Macedonian 
court and there 
spread Greek 
culture and 
ideas. 

239. Philip 
Forms a Nation. 
— Over this peo- 
ple a young man 
named Philip became king in the year 359 b. c. He 
had spent several years of his early manhood at Thebes 
as a political hostage. These years gave him an under- 
standing of Greek politics, of the character of the Greeks, 
and of the needs of Macedon. He saw that Macedon, to 
become a great state in Greece, needed an outlet upon the 
Mgean Sea. Internally her scattered tribes must be made 
to feel that they were a single nation. The latter task 



| W'wi.m at tlu: beyiiutiit'i \£> 
of Philip's Iteiffn 

I Territory added by I'hilip 
I down to 310 It. 0. 
SCALE OF MILES 



-.11 



120 



^C^d 



Macedon in the Time of Philip. 



190 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Philip carried through by organizing the Macedonian 
warriors into a national standing army, to which the old 
clans each furnished a certain levy. He taught his soldiers 
the better tactics of the Athenians and Thebans, and intro- 
duced better armor. The army and the military career 
became the center of interest in Macedonian life. 

Philip himself was a true Macedonian, a hard fighter 
and hard drinker, and exceedingly popular with his soldiers. 
He lived and fought with them, and wrestled and boxed 
among them. They endured no hardship which he did not 
also endure. His bitter enemy, the Athenian orator Demos- 
thenes, after Philip's death, paid this tribute to his de- 
termination : 

What a man we had to fight! For the sake of power and 
dominion he had an eye put out, his shoulder broken, an arm 
and a leg injured. Whatever limb fortune demanded, that he 
gave up, so that the remnant of his body might live in glory 
and honor. 

240. Demosthenes Leads the Opposition to Philip.— The 

policy of Philip was directed toward getting the seaboard 
of Macedon, then that of Thessaly, under Macedonian con- 
trol. He desired thereafter to take in the cities of Chalcidice 
and the coast towns to the east of it. All of this plan he 
carried out, using money in bribing his opponents and force 
where money failed. This policy aroused bitter opposition 
at Athens, since Philip attacked cities which were allied to 
her, or those which had formerly been under her power. 

In 352 b. c. the young Athenian orator Demosthenes 
appeared before the people and delivered the first of his 
orations against Philip. These are known as the Philippics, 
and have given us our common word "philippic," meaning 
a political invective. The Olynthiac orations of Demos- 
thenes, delivered in the years 349 and 348 b. a, are really 
to be regarded as in the series of his great Philippics. 
In them he bitterly assails Philip, and urges the Athenians 
to go to the assistance of the great northern city of Olynthus, 
which Philip was besieging. But the Athenians had no 



THE UNITY OF GREECE 



191 



longer the power to cope with the great Macedonian. 
Olynthus opened her gates to Philip in 348 b. c, and the 
northern coast of the iEgean lay in his hand. 

241. Demosthenes as a Statesman. — In the politics of his 
time Demosthenes stands as a partisan of the old idea of 
the independence of the Greek city- 
state. In Philip the tendency toward 
the unifying of Greece is incorporated 
in a political genius. The freedom of 
the city-states meant that the Greek 
states would continue their petty 
wars, destructive of property and of 
human lives, with little gain to them- 
selves. So Demosthenes is the cham- 
pion of a dying ideal which had 
worked woe to all the Hellenes for a 
full century. He did not see, as a 
great statesman should have seen, 
that Athens as a leading power was 
broken forever. He overestimated her 
strength, and underestimated the 
ability of Macedon's king and the 
strength of its resources. His local 
patriotism for Athens was narrow 
and short-sighted. He has not there- 
fore gained a place among the great 

Greek statesmen, yet he deserves honor for having given 
his life to the ideal in which he sincerely believed. He 
fought the power of Macedon whenever possible until after 
the death of Alexander, and at the end poisoned himself 
to escape falling into the hands of the Macedonian soldiers. 

242. Isocrates Advocates Unity.— Even at Athens men 
were not wanting who saw that the Greeks were uselessly 
cutting each other's throats. The greatest of these was a 
Sophist, the Athenian teacher Isocrates. As early as the 
year 380 b. c, in a formal oration at Olympia, he had urged 
the Hellenes to lay aside their quarrels and join in a common, 
Panhellenic attack upon Persia. Throughout his career 




Demcsthexes. 



192 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

he continued to preach this political doctrine. As Philip's 
power grew, he hoped that this end might be attained 
under the leadership of Macedon. About the year 345 
b. c. he addressed an open letter to Philip urging upon him 
this great task. 

In Demosthenes and Isocrates we see the chief advocates 
of the two tendencies in Greek politics of the fourth century. 
The one hoped by a great national enterprise to unite all 
the Greeks. The other was thinking of his little state 
and of keeping its freedom at any cost. 

243. The Last Struggle against Philip.— By 345 b. c. 
Philip had firmly established himself in central Greece. 
He had obtained a vote in the Delphic Amphictyony, a 
religious league, and could by that means interfere in the 
politics of all the states of the Amphictyony. The central 
Greek states, including Athens, Eubcea, Bceotia and the 
northern states of the Peloponnesus, joined in a last at- 
tempt to drive him back into the north. The opposing 
forces met at Chseronea in Bceotia in the year 338 b. c, and 
Athens and her allies were routed after heavy losses. Alex- 
ander, son of Philip, then eighteen years of age, showed 
great daring and ability as leader of the Macedonian cavalry 
upon the field. The battle of Chaeronea must be remem- 
bered because with this defeat the free Greek states cease 
to be the most important feature of Greek political history. 

244. The Unity of Greece.— In the next year Philip called 
together a congress of representatives of the Greek states at 
the Isthmus of Corinth. A general peace was declared, by 
which all the states were to be free and to retain their own 
constitutions. A Panhellenic Congress was established, 
which was to meet in Corinth, and in it each state was to 
have a representative. The league of Greek states joined 
in an offensive and defensive alliance with Macedon, in which 
each agreed to furnish its due levy of troops for the common 
war against Persia, and Philip was named commander-in- 
chief of the forces of the league. 

This congress at the Isthmus should be remembered in 
connection with the meeting held there in 481 b. c, when 



THE UNITY OF GREECE 193 

the states met to defend their freedom and their homes 
against Persian attack. The congress of 337 b. c. marks 
the date when the union was again effected, but this time for 
the purpose of conducting a great offensive movement 
against the ancient enemy of Greece. As Philip had formed 
the Macedonians into a nation by giving them a common 
purpose through their aggressive wars, so he now hoped to 
bring about a national Hellenic spirit by means of a great 
war against Persia. In the next year, however, he fell a victim 
of the dagger of an assassin (336 b. c.) at his own court at vEgse. 
The life-work of Philip is full of meaning in Greek history. 
He made a nation out of the Macedonians and formed the 
army with which his son was to conquer Persia. In the 
place of the petty wars of the little Greek states he set a 
greater purpose by preparing them for a national enter- 
prise which was destined to open 
up a new world to Hellenic energy - f | 

and civilization. 

245. Intellectual Life in the 

Fourth Century.— After the close -jpr 

of the Peloponnesian War Athens '. 

became more than ever the ex- ^-: 

elusive center of the literary and ,'ft&m 

artistic life of Greece. The literary 4 v 

talents of the Athenians turned • 

from the drama and other poetic 

forms to the writing of prose. 

The fourth century is the era of 

philosophic writing, especially in BusT OF Plato - 

the form of the dialogue, of history, and of oratory. 

246. Plato. — The greatest among the disciples of Socrates 
was the Athenian, Plato, one of the deepest thinkers and 
most inspiring writers the world has seen. In his Dialogues 
he tried to solve the deepest problems of human life. He 
makes Socrates the chief speaker in all the dialogues. He 
shows him sitting with other great men of his time, and puts 
into his mouth Plato's own thoughts upon love, the immor- 
tality of the soul, friendship, and other topics. 



194 THE His POKY OF GREECE 

Plato believed thai the things which we see about us 
are but poor earthly copies o( real things, and that these 
real things exist in the world beyond us in what we would 
call Heaven. In this Other World exist the perfect tree, 
the perfect statesman, perfect courage, and perfect goodness. 
Men always long to realize these perfect things, but they 
cannot do so on earth. The soul, he taught, is immortal. 
Before its birth in human form it existed in the world beyond, 
and it retains in life a dim memory oi the perfect things it 
then saw. 

247. The Ideal State. The Greek word "philosophy" 
means a "love o( knowledge" and the study embraced 
many things which are now separate sciences. One of 
those is the study o( politics and government. In his 
Republic, Plato shows what he considered to be the perfect 
form o( government. Naturally, he believed in the little 
city-state, but it was to be governed by the wise men, those 
trained in philosophy, and not by the general mass o( citizens. 
Plato's Republic has been the model and inspiration of 
many similar pictures o( what the ideal state 1 should be. 1 
As long as men shall think and read, the inspiration of 
Plato's thought will last. \s an author he is a surpassing 
artist, a poet in prose. Better dialogues than those of 
Plato have never been written. 

248. Aristotle. Although horn in Stagira, a city in Mace- 
don, the philosopher Aristotle must be regarded as an 
Athenian, because he studied in the school of Plato and spent 
much of his later life at Athens. Plato called him "the 
mind of the school." lie was a man of wonderful intellect 
and has been called the "father of the sciences" and "the 
master of those who know." He marked oi'i the different 
fields oi man's knowledge, and tried to put each upon a 
basis for systematic treatment. In his Zodlogy he laid 
the foundation o{ the study of the animal kingdom by 
dividing the animals then known into related classes. 

1 \n\oni:; these are Mare's Utopia (1516); Bacon's New Atlantis 
(1624-1629); Bellamy's Looking Backward (1889). 



THE UNITY OF GREECE 195 

Theophrastus, one of his pupils, carried out the same wrork 
in botany. 

The greatest service of Aristotle was to determine the 
principles or laws which underlie the process of correct 
oning, that is, the science called "logic." In preparing 
for his great work on politics Aristotle made a study of the 
government of over one hundred and fifty Greek city-stat< 
These studies were known to us only through hearsay until 
a papyrus manuscript of a single one, the Constitution of 
Athens, was found in Egypt and first published in 
1891. 

Plato taught his disciples in a garden called the Academy. 
Aristotle's pupils kept up the work of their master in a place 
called the Lyceum. These schools were continued, and 
developed into the universities of the ancient world. They 
existed without a break until closed by the order of the 
Roman Emperor Justinian in 529 a. d. If one studies the 
history of the Middle Ages, one learns of the great influence 
of these two men, especially Aristotle, upon the thought 
of that period. Science lias, in modern times, far outstripped 
the work of Aristotle; but all the philosophic thought of to- 
day still finds its inspiration in the works of the two great 
philosophers of the ancient world, Plato and Aristotle. 

249. Greek Oratory.— In the years from the Peloponne- 
sian War to the death of Alexander, Athens produced, one 
after another, a succession of able lawyers and orator-. 
The greatest of these were Demosthenes, perhaps the great- 
est orator of all history, and his political opponent, ^Eschines. 
The fiery eloquence of Demosthenes can scarcely be felt 
in an English translation. The rhythmic swing and bal- 
ance of his sentences and the beauty of his language are 
entirely lost. Although classed among the orators, [socr; 
was greater as a writer of political editorials and a teacher 
of rhetoric and oratory. We have seen above how he 
influenced the spirit of his time by preaching the doctrine 
of political unity. 

250. History: Xenophon.— This period produced a num- 
ber of historians, but no one who is preeminent. The mo 



L96 TII10 HISTORY OF (JREECE 

important is Xenophon. A later Greek writer tells the fol- 
lowing story about him: 

They say that Socrates once met Xenophon in a narrow street, 
ami stretched his staff across it, thus preventing him from pass- 
ing. Socrates asked him where he could buy I lungs to eat. 
When he had answered, Socrates questioned him again: "Where 
will one find fine and noble gentlemen?-' When Xenophon 
hesitated he said: " Follow me, then, and learn." And from 
that time on he became a disciple of Socrates. 

Xenophon's Memorabilia of Socrates gives us a glimpse 
into the life and habits of the master as he walked about 
Athens, talking with all kinds of people. From his work 

on the State of the Lace- 
daemonians comes much 
of the information given 
in a previous chapter 
on the Spartan state. 
i, , His Hellenic History is 

our best source of in- 
formation on the his- 
tory of Greece from the 
year 411 b. c, where 
Thucydides' history 
leaves off, to 362 b. c, 
the battle of Mantinea. 
Besides these he com- 
posed a number of other 



smaller works. Xeno- 

Vikw of the Seats and Orchestra of the phoil is by no means 
Old Grei.iv I'iiks n.u at Epidaurus. ., i i. 

a great writer, but his 
works, especially the Anabasis are interesting in style, 
and very useful because of the information they give. 
251. The Art of the Fourth Century. -In poetry little was 
added in the fourth century to the works of genius produced 
,n the preceding century. In the field of architecture, 
temples were still erected ini the same styles, chiefly Doric 
and Ionic. Many theaters were built, however, as each 




THE UNITY OF GREECE 



197 



Head of the Hermes of 
Praxiteles. 



city, large or small, wished to have its own theater erected 
in si one. One of the largest of these was that ejected at 
Epidaurus, a health-resort in the Peloponnesus. The seats 
for the audience are still to be seen 
there, and it is our best example of y r> i. s 

an old Greek theater. 

Among the eminent sculptors of 
the time the greatest was Praxiteles, 
who lived about 350 b. C. His statue 
of Hermes playing with the child 

Dionysus 
was found 
in the exca- 
vations at 
Olympia, 
and is now 

in the museum there. It is one 
of the very few original statues 
that we have from the hand of 
any of the Greek sculptors. Its 
beauty proves that Praxiteles was 
a sculptor who has never been sur- 
passed in giving a marble figure 
the appearance of softness charac- 
teristic of the living body. 

The sculptors of this period still 
made images of the gods and god- 
desses, but the gods they depicted 
were nothing more than human 
beings idealized. The gold and 
ivory statues of Zeus and Athena 
by Phidias came from a real re- 
ligious belief, inspiring awe and 
reverence. The sculptors of the fourth century gave 
us gods, beautiful indeed, but not august nor divine. 
Praxiteles, for example, shows us an Apollo who spends 
his time tormenting a lizard upon a tree trunk. His 
representations of the goddess Aphrodite were nothing 
14 




Apollo Playing with a Lizard. 

Copy of an Original Statue of 
Praxitele . 



198 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

more than statues of beautiful women. In these works 
we see the decay of the old Greek religion. It no longer 
has the strength to produce religious works inspired by a 
real spirit of devotion. 

References for Outside Reading 

For the Political Development. — Plutarch's Demosthenes, Pho- 
cion (first half); extracts from Demosthenes' Orations in Fling, Source 
Book, ch. 11; Botsford, Orient and Greece, ch. 15; Oman, History of 
Greece, ch. 42-43; Bury, History of Greece, ch. 16; Seignobos, Ancient 
Civilization, pp. 176-180; Curteis, Rise of the Macedonian Empire, pp. 
1-82; Wheeler, Alexander the Great, ch. 7, 8. 

For the Cultural and Intellectual Side. — Mahaffy, Survey of 
Greek Civilization, pp. 187-204; Tarbell, History of the Greek Art, ch. 9; 
Capps, Homer to Theocritus, ch. 14-16. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Life and Work of Demosthenes. — Plutarch, Demosthenes; 

Smith or Harper's Classical Dictionaries, or the Encyclopedias 
under " Demosthenes. " 

2. The Art of Praxiteles.— Tarbell, Greek Art, pp. 218-230. 

3. The Macedonian Army. — Curteis, Macedonian Empire, pp. 33-36; 

Wheeler, Alexander, pp. 215-217. 



CHAPTER XIX 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 

252. Economic Condition of Greece. — During and after the 
Peloponnesian War the conditions of trade and business life 
in Greece were rapidly changing. The small wars between 
the states were almost continuous down to the time of 
Philip's victory at Chaeronea. This caused untold suffering 
and loss of property outside the large cities. These cities, 
however, increased greatly in size. A conservative estimate 
gives the city of Athens and the Piraeus a population of about 
120,000 ! in the time of 
Philip, and Thebes over 
40,000. Olynthus, which 
had a population of possi- 
bly 20,000 in 383 b. c, 
doubled it in the next 
thirty years. 

These cities were occu- 
pied with manufacturing 
industries and shipped 
their products to all parts 
of the Greek world. In 
Athens we hear especially 
of the armor and pottery 
factories where linen and 




At the Shoemaker's Shop. 
From a Vase-painting. 



factories. There were also the 
woolen garments were woven. 
There were the mills where grain was ground into flour, the 
shoemakers' shops, and all the small retail shops necessary 
to city life. 

253. Use of Slaves. — From the time of the Persian Wars, 
the use of slaves as factory hands and in household work 
increased. The orator Lysias, who was a grown man 

1 Compare sections 189 and 190 where the numbers are given for 
the entire date of Attica 

199 



200 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



in 400 b. c, employed 120 slaves in his shield factory. 
Demosthenes' father was a manufacturer of arms and 
couches. He had two factories, and employed from 20 
to 30 slaves in each. Some wealthy men invested their 
capital in slaves and hired them out as laborers at so much 
per day. 

These slaves were somet imes Greeks who had been cap- 
tured in the war, more often foreigners kidnapped in their 




Greek Ftrxiti-re. 
Couch, Chair, and Foot-stools. From a Vase-painting. 

childhood in Asia Minor, along the Black Sea, or in the west. 
The result of the growth of slave labor was to lower the 
wages of free labor, and to force manj r of* the lower classes 
of free men out of employment. The idle class in the cities 
was increased by the farmers whose crops were destroy ed 
in the continual civil wars of the period. Such men sought 
work and wages by taking service as hired soldiers, either 
in the interstate wars in Greece or with the Great King of 
Persia. 

254. Colonization had Ceased. — Before the time of Solon 
colonization had offered fresh opportunities in new lands to 
those in the Greek cities who were poor and dissatisfied. 
But by 500 b. c. the colonization movement had passed. 
In Asia Minor, Syria, and Egypt it was checked by Persia, in 
Africa and Spain by the business enterprise of the merchants 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 201 

of Carthage. In central Italy, the advance of Greek trade 
was blocked first by the Etruscans, then by the advance of 
t he Italians, especially by the growing city of Rome. Indeed, 
by the time of Alexander, the Greeks of Sicily and lower 
Italy were hardly holding their own in the West against 
Carthage and the Italians. The Gauls, Germans, and 
Scythians, semi-barbarous, strong, and warlike, made 
colonization toward the north impossible. 

It was the task of the men who should help Greece out 
of its difficulties, first to put an end to political disunion, 
which Philip had done, then to break down the barriers which 
hemmed in Greek trade. The Greeks needed new markets 
to which they could send their manufactured goods and their 
surplus of unemployed men. It is the great glory of Alex- 
ander of Macedon that he supplied these needs by opening 
the East to Greek enterprise. 

255. Boyhood of Alexander.— Because of the adventurous 
and glorious career of Alexander, even more because of the 
magnetic charm of his personality, the men who worked 
with him as well as the later historians of antiquity felt a 
deep interest in his life. Of all that was written about him 
we have left only the Anabasis of Alexander, by Arrian, a 
Greek writer of the second century a. d., the Life of Alexan- 
der, by Quintus Curtius Rufus of the first century a. d., 
and Plutarch's Life of Alexander. 

In his boyhood Alexander was carefully trained and his 
mind skillfully prepared for the vast possibilities of his 
position. He early showed the indomitable spirit, keen ob- 
servation, and willingness to attempt any task, which made 
him great as a man. Plutarch tells a story which illustrates 
these qualities. A vicious but beautiful horse, Bucephalus, 
was offered for sale to Philip, but none of the servants could 
mount him. The boy Alexander had noticed that the horse 
was afraid of the motion of his own shadow. He begged his 
father to let him try the horse, and turned him toward the 
sun, so that his shadow fell behind him. Then he leaped 
upon his back and rode him without mishap. Philip was 
overjoyed and cried out: "O my son, look thee out a 



202 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

kingdom worthy of thyself, for Macedon is too small for 

thee." 

The interest which Philip took in his son's training is shown 
by the fact that he employed Aristotle, the most profound 
scholar of that day, to give Alexander his training in the 
higher subjects of learning. Alexander in his later career 
showed a great interest in advancing the scientific study 
of the plants and animals in the countries through which 
they passed. Without a doubt he owed to Aristotle some- 
thing of the greatness of his plans and breadth of his 
vision. 

256. Appearance and Character.— Wo have many por- 
traits of Alexander in the form of busts and on coins. They 
show a finely shaped head, largo oyos, sensitive mouth 

and strong chin. He was said to have 
been muscular and well-proportioned, and 
altogether a handsome man. He carried 
his head bent a little to one side, was 
blond and fair of skin. In character he 
is the most attractive figure of antiquity. 
He had faults, but they only serve to 
m,n o7Hx.vMn:K. make hilu ^mian. From his mother, 
FromaCoiu. Olympias of Epirus, he inherited a quick- 

ness to anger which led him to do cruel 

things; but his remorse for these deeds was as deep as the 

passion which prompted them. Morally he was clean and 

self-controlled. 

His genius lay in his ability to see the vital point in any 

situation, either on the battle field or in the question of 

government, and in his swiftness of decision and action. 

As a general he undoubtedly ranks with Caesar and Napoleon. 

Scholars differ in their judgment of him as a statesman. 

257. Beginning of the Persian Wars. — When he came to 
the throne in 330 b. c, Alexander was but twenty years old. 
His Greek subjects, and the northern parts of his kingdom, 
revolted immediately. But he had at his back the veteran 
army of Philip, amounting to 40.000 men. Like a thunder- 
bolt he struck at central Greece, and the revolt crumbled 




ALEXANDER THE GREAT 



203 




away before him. He was elected to all the power which 
had belonged to Philip as commander-in-chief of the Hel- 
lenic troops for the war against Persia. By the year 334 
b. c, Alexander had Greece and Macedon well in hand, and 
had crossed into Asia by way of the 
Hellespont, to carry out Philip's plan 
of a great Panhellenic war against 
Persia. 

The causes of the war lay in the am- 
bition of Alexander to do great deeds, 
in the necessity of using the fighting 
energy of the Hellenes in some foreign 
war, and in the hostility between the 
Greeks and Persians, which had ex- 
isted since the time of Darius. Back 
of all this lay the necessity mentioned 
above of opening up a new field for 
the export of Greek manufactured 
goods and an outlet for her unemployed 
people. In an open letter to King 
Philip the Sophist Isocrates urged him in the following 
words to conquer Asia and found cities there: 

Colonize there these Greeks who are wandering about in want 
of daily food, a source of annoyance to all whom they meet. 
For if we do not stop them from gathering together and furnish 
them with a sufficient living, before we know it they will be so 
numerous that they will be no less dangerous to the Hellenes 
than to the barbarians. 

258. Resources of the Persians and the Greeks. — When 
Alexander had made all the preparations for his expedition, 
he divided most of his possessions among his friends so that 
they might have the means to equip themselves and follow 
him. His friend Perdiccas asked him what he had left 
for himself, and he answered, "My hopes." " In these," 
said Perdiccas, " your soldiers will be your partners." 
Perdiccas and many of his companions refused to accept 
his gifts. Such was the open-handed generosity by which 



Portrait-bust of 
Alexander. 

It is Considered the Best 

Likeness that we have. 



201 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Alexander bound men to him, and such the enthusiastic 
loyalty which his fascinating personality inspired. 

Oi such devotion he had great need, for the design of 
conquering Persia seemed an impossible one. The Great 
King ruled a vast territory embracing Asia from the Indus 
River to the .Pgean Sea, which is about the same distance 
as that from San Francisco to New York. It included also 
Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. The total area was three- 
fifths oi that oi the United States, and its population ex- 
ceeded 50,000,000. Alexander had but seventy talents 
(about 175,000) when he came into Asia. Darius, the 
King, received an annual revenue equivalent to eleven 
million dollars 1 from his land tax alone and the hoards of 
silver and gold in his treasuries ran up into the hundreds 
of millions. 

259. The Persian Army.— The Persian King had under his 
command a great and well trained navy, recruited from his 
Phoenician subjects. Alexander's naval force could not 
compare with it in strength. Darius had a great advantage 
in the vast number of troops at his disposal. They were 
collected from all the nations under his rule, but were weak- 
ened by a lack of national feeling and the want of a single. 
able leader, Darius himself was a man of little ability. 
He tried to make up for the lack of spirit among his native 
forces by hiring Greek mercenaries to the number of 50,000, 
with Greek generals; but the troops were compelled to tight 
under Persian tactics, which fell far behind the Creek 
science oi warfare of that day. 

260. Organization of the Macedonian Army.— The army 
oi Alexander numbered 30,000 infantry and o,000 cavalry, 
for the greater part seasoned veterans of Philip's army 
tinder able generals trained in Philip's wars. Oi these 
generals. Parmenio was the ablest, a man devoted to Philip 
and faithful to his son. The chief unit of the army was 
the phalanx, a solid formation oi heavy-armed foot-soldiers. 
They were aligned usually eight men deep, and carried an 

1 Remember that those sums were immensely more valuable in 
ancient times than are the same amounts to-day. 



VLEXANDER THE GREAT 205 

eighteen-foot spear, which was grasped in the 1 1*1 hand about 
four feet from the butt and back of this by the right. 

This heavy-armed force was supported by the light-armed 
troops who carried a small shield, a sword, and a lance for 
hurling. Alexander, however, relied chiefly for his victories 
upon the attack of his heavy cavalry called the " Com- 
panions." They were recruited from the Macedonian 
knights, wore helmets of metal, and leather cuirasses strength- 
ened with metal. They fought with short swords and six- 
foot lances, riding without saddles. The attack of this 
body, led by Alexander and inspired by his reckless courage, 
was always irresistible. 

261. Conquest of Asia Minor and Egypt.— It is a mistake 
to suppose that Alexander left Greece with the intention 
of hewing out a great world-empire with the sword. He 
left it as leader of the Hellenes to punish Persia for the 
ill formerly done to the Greeks. It is possible in its general 
outlines to follow the growth of Alexander's ideas as his 
victories led him on, until his ambitions and his deeds 
brought the great economic needs of the Hellenic business 
world to fulfillment. The years 334-332 b. c. were spent 
in brilliant campaigns in which Alexander defeated the King's 
troops in two great battles — at the Granicus River in north- 
western Asia Minor, and in 333 b. c. at Issus in Cilicia. To 
the time of the battle of Issus, Alexander is still no more than 
the Hellenic leader against Persia. Thereafter he regards 
himself as the successor of Darius upon the Persian throne. 
Arrian quotes a letter which Alexander was said to have 
written shortly after that battle in answer to proposals of 
peace from Darius: 

I am lord of all Asia, and therefore do thou come to me * * * 
And in the future, whenever thou sendest, send to me as to the 
Great King of Asia, and do not write as to an equal, but tell 
me whatever thy need be, as to one who is lord of all that is 

thine. 

This is the second phase of his career. The third and 
last is more indefinite and will appear later. In 332 b. c. 



206 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

his victorious career continued southward through Syria 
into Egypt, which greeted him as its deliverer from the 
bondage of Persia. 

262. Alexander as Persian King. — While Alexander was 
busied in Egypt, Darius mustered all the troops available 
to meet the invader. In 331 b. c. Alexander marched into 
Asia against him, crossed the Tigris River, and came in 
sight of the Persian array about fifty miles northwest 
of the city of Arbela. The numbers of the Persian army 
are given by the ancient historians as about one million 
men. This estimate is no doubt far too large, but the 
Persians must have outnumbered the Greeks at least five 
to one. Anxiety and awe seized upon even the veteran 
generals of Alexander as they beheld the camp fires of the 
enemy gleaming for miles over the plain. Parmenio sug- 
gested a night attack to meet the great peril of the battle, 
but Alexander put his proposal aside. " I never steal a 
victory," he said. Well might his generals be anxious, 
for they were in the midst of the enemy's country. Defeat 
meant the annihilation of the Greek forces. 

On the following day the lines drew up for battle. Alexander 
placed a reserve in the rear to protect his line from attacks 
on either flank. He planned to make the decisive stroke 
with the heavy cavalry, the Companions, as was his cus- 
tom. The terrific scythe-bearing chariots of King Darius 
bore down upon the Macedonian phalanx, but the horses 
were shot down by the archers or turned by the bridle before 
they reached the line. Suddenly Alexander hurled his heavy 
cavalry at an opening in the Persian center. The phalanx 
advanced behind them. The great King Darius turned 
and fled, and his army broke and followed him. Parmenio, 
who commanded the left wing of the Greek army, was 
surrounded and in sore trouble, but even here the enemy 
was driven back before Alexander came up to aid Parmenio. 

Such was the battle of Arbela. Upon that day the rule 
of Darius ended in Persia and that of Alexander began. 
Had the Greeks been defeated, the history of the Orient 
would have been a different one. The battle is to be ranked 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 207 

with that of Salamis as one in which world issues were 
decided. It is another phase of the old international 
struggle between the East and the West, other manifestations 
of which we have seen in the Persian invasions of 490 and 
480 b. c, and in the Carthaginian attacks upon the Greeks 
of Sicily. Again the West had conquered. 

263. March to the East. — Alexander marched into the 
great cities of Babylon, Susa, Persepolis, and Ecbatana, 
and took possession of the treasures of the Persian King 
located there. Then he continued the pursuit of the fleeing 
King Darius. In 330 b. c, Darius was murdered by one of 
his satraps, Bessus, who proclaimed himself king of Persia. 
Bessus was captured by Alexander, tried by the Persian 
court, and put to death as a murderer. Darius was buried 
with royal honors. 

Restless and ceaseless marching and fighting was the lot 
of the Macedonian army from 330 to 325 b. c. It traversed 
the wide stretches of Hyrcania, Parthia, Sogdiana, and 
Bactria — countries unknown to the Greeks — and advanced 
as far east as the Indus River. In this period the schemes of 
Alexander widened as his conquests extended, and we enter 
upon the third state of his development. His purpose was to 
mingle the races of men under his power into one great race, 
a true world-empire. He himself married the beautiful 
Roxane, a princess of Bactria, whose father he had conquered. 
In every way he encouraged his Greek and Macedonian 
officers and soldiers to take Persian wives in order to promote 
the good feeling between the two great races among his sub- 
jects. Some historians regard this ideal as foolish and im- 
possible. Nevertheless it was a great design, sprung from 
the brain of one who regarded no difficulty as insurmount- 
able. 

264. Change in Alexander. —The vast and ceaseless labors 
which he had undertaken began in these years to tell upon 
even the strong constitution of the young Macedonian. 
A change in his attitude toward himself and his work is 
clearly noticeable. The Macedonians were always hard 
drinkers. The necessity for stimulants seemed to increase 



ALKXAXDER THE GREAT 209 

its hoM upon Alexander, and as it grew the outbursts of 
passionate anger, which sometimes appeared in his boyhood, 
were more frequent. In Egypt Alexander had been pro- 
claimed a god by the priests of Zeus Amman. This was an 
Oriental custom, to worship their kings as gods. The idea 
appealed to the mystic strain in the young king's nature. 
Perhaps, too, he thought it good policy to let the Persians 
worship him as they had worshipped their king.-, before him; 
he did not. however, demand this worship of his Macedonian 
companions. 

The flattery bestowed upon him was not liked by some 
of the Macedonians who had grown up with him and shared 
in all his labors and his glory. At a drinking bout his 
foster-brother, Clitus the Black, the; son of his old nurse, 
reminded him insolently that his power rested upon the 
blood of the Macedonians who had fought and died for him. 
In the drink-heated quarrel which followed, Clitus cast, in 
Alexander's teeth the fact that, he had saved his life at the 
Granicus River, and recited an insulting verse from ;i drama 
of Euripide-,. Alexander grasped a spear from an attendant, 
and pierced Clitus to the heart. The remorse which fol- 
lowed was as complete and overpowering as his ,'mger had 
been. He was saved from suicide by his officers, but lay 
for a day and night without food or drink bemoaning the 
terrible act. 

265. Voyage down the Indus.— When he arrived in India 
at the Hydaspes River, Alexander was met by the fori 
of the Indian prince, Porus. He defeated Porus, but, struck 
by the qualities of the man, he left him in possession of 
his kingdom. Among the many adventures which befell 
the young King was one brought on by his own reckl< 
bravery. In the attack upon a strong citadel in an Indian 
city, Alexander led his troops in person. When he and three 
soldiers were upon the wall the ladder up which they had 
climbed broke and they were lefl then- alone. Alexander 
without hesitation leaped down among the enemy and the 
three soldiers followed him. They were overwhelmed with 
the arrow- and -tones of the enemy. Alexander was -truck 



210 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

to the ground by a stone and shot in the breast with an 
arrow. One of the soldiers was killed, but the other two 
protected their king until the Macedonians clambered over 
the wall and saved the three. 

Alexander was sorely wounded and there was despair of 
his recovery. Hearing that the soldiers were afraid that 
he had died, he had himself carried down the river in a boat. 
From his couch he waved his hand to the veterans who lined 
the banks. Their joy broke out in wild cheers, and when 
he landed they strewed flowers before him — for he insisted 
upon riding — and crowded up to touch him as he passed. 

266. The Return March. — Despite their love for and con- 
fidence in their brilliant general, the army mutinied when 
Alexander proposed a further march into the interior of 
India. Even he could not move them, tired out and worn 
as they were by those years of fighting. In 325 b. c. the 
return march began. Alexander built a fleet of boats, 
and sent a portion of the troops under the admiral Nearchus 
on an exploring voyage down the Indus River, around by 
sea, and up the Persian Gulf to the mouth of the Euphrates 
River. Alexander led the rest of his troops through the 
Gedrosian desert, a march of sixty days, filled with the ter- 
rors of famine, thirst, and disease. 

267. Death of Alexander. — The year and a half which re- 
mained to Alexander after his return was filled with the 
toil of reorganizing the conquered territory. Without 
partiality, he punished the Persian and Greek officials 
who had been guilty of oppression, theft, or injustice during 
his absence. He showed clearly that he meant to establish 
a strong government. He demanded honesty as well as 
capability from his administrative officials. 

In the year 323 b. c, while Alexander's brain was teeming 
with new designs, including the conquest of Arabia, and 
the construction of a fleet of 1,000 vessels for the conquest 
of Africa and Spain, a fever seized upon him. After he had 
been ill for some days " the Macedonians, supposing he was 
dead, came with great clamors to the gates, and menaced 
his friends so that they were forced to admit them, and let 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 211 

them all pass through unarmed along by his bedside." 
This was the touching farewell of the veterans to the brilliant 
young general who had led them on from victory to victory. 
268. Economic Effects of the Conquest. — It is impossible 
to trace all the immediate results of the conquest of Persia, 
or those more lasting results which transpired after years had 
passed. The most immediate effects were those felt by the 








Remains of the Theater of Dionysus at Athens. 

Greek and Persian business world. In Susa Alexander cap- 
tured the treasures of the Persian King amounting to 50,000 
talents, about $55,000,000. At Persepolis 120,000 talents 
fell into his hands, a sum amounting to about $130,000,000. 
As Alexander had incurred enormous debts in fitting out 
his army and in maintaining it, most of this money soon 
came into circulation, and at his death only 50,000 talents 
remained in the royal treasury. 

The addition of so much money to that already in circu- 
lation increased business activity in Greece and Asia Minor. 
In consequence, the price of food-stuffs rose and the value 
of gold fell until the ratio of gold to silver stood 1 to ll}/£. 
Athens and Corinth, especially, took advantage of the busi- 
ness opportunities offered. Under the able guidance of 
Lycurgus, the finances of Athens were well regulated. As 



212 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

in the time of Pericles, new and costly public buildings were 
erected. The theater of Dionysus beside the Acropolis 
was rebuilt in stone, and the ruins of it may still be seen 
at Athens. The stadium, or athletic campus for the Pan- 
athenaic and other Attic festivals, was rebuilt. With the 
growth of private fortunes in the hands of single men, the 
wealthy expended greater sums on the decoration of their 
private houses with wall paintings, statues, and other 
costly adornments. 

The conquest was followed by a great increase in Greek 
trade with the East. This trade depended upon the new 
Greek colonization movement to Asia Minor, which must 
be discussed apart. The East, in its turn, learned the 
modern business methods of the Greeks, and sent its own 
wares to Greece and the West. 

269. Intellectual Results. — Intellectually, there was an 
active interchange of ideas between the Greeks and Per- 
sians. The Persian kingdom, including Egypt and Pales- 
tine, took up the philosophy of the Greeks, learned to appre- 
ciate and enjoy the products of the Greek artistic genius, 
its poetry and its art. This is commonly called the " Hel- 
lenizing " of the East. The Greek philosophic teachings 
spreading into Syria and Palestine had a marked effect 
even upon Christianity in its formative period. 

The minds of the Greeks too were broadened. Their 
feeling that they were a select people, better than any 
" barbarian " or foreign people, began to disappear. A 
system of philosophy soon appeared which recognized the 
common brotherhood of all men, the philosophy called 
Stoicism. This new spirit may be called " cosmopolitan," 
as opposed to the old Greek spirit of " provincialism." 

The Greek language went east with the Greek merchants 
and established itself as the official tongue at the courts 
of the Macedonian kings who followed Alexander in the 
Persian kingdom. In fact, Greek became the common 
tongue in the eastern Mediterranean countries. When 
Christianity came, it found the various races of the East 
speaking two languages, the native tongue and the Greek. 



ALEXANDER THE GREAT 213 

This fact greatly helped the spread of the gospel of Christ, for 
in His time, with a knowledge of Greek, a man could travel and 
exchange ideas with other men from Spain to northern India. 

270. Renewal of Greek Colonization.— The "Hellenizing" 
of western Asia was made permanent by the cities which 
Alexander founded in all parts of his empire. Their number 
is said to have been over seventy. His purpose was to es- 
tablish military centers from which to rule the subject coun- 
try, and thus control the great highways of trade. These cities 
became centers out of which tha Greek civilization spread 
and rooted itself firmly in the soil of Asia and Egypt. The 
modern cities of Herat and Kandahar in Afghanistan 
and Alexandria in Egypt, are cities founded by Alexander. 
The fact that these cities still exist shows the wisdom with 
which he chose their sites. 

The successors of Alexander, especially in Asia, continued 
his policy of founding Greek colonies. This activity is 
to be connected with the Greek colonization of the eighth 
and seventh centuries b. c, when the Pontus and western 
Mediterranean had been opened up to Greek trade and 
civilization by colonies sent out by the city-states. The 
colonization of the time following Alexander was continued 
upon a much greater scale by statesmen who looked into 
the future, and saw that they must have Hellenic cities in 
the conquered lands, as military and commercial centers, if 
they wished to hold them against the native peoples. 

References for Outside Reading 

Plutarch, Life of Alexander; Fling, Source Book, ch. 12; Oman, 
History of Greece, ch. 44; Bury, History of Greece, ch. 17, 18; Wheeler, 
Alexander the Great; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 223-241; 
Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire, ch. 1-4; Botsford, Orient and Greece, 
310-318; Curteis, Macedonian Empire, ch. 9-17. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Greek Slaves.— Tucker, Life in Ancient Athens, pp. 70-78; 

Gulick, Life of the Ancient Greeks, pp. 66-70. 

2. Worship of Alexander as a God.— Mahaffy, Survey, pp. 241- 

246; Wheeler, Alexander, pp. 347-355. 



214 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

3. Story of Alexander and His Physician. — Plutarch's Alexander 

(in the first part); Wheeler, Alexander, pp. 27G-277. 

4. Great Siege of Tyre. — Fling, Source Book, pp. 300-30S. 

5. Death of Alexander. — Arrian, Anabasis, VII, 25-28 (in Fling, 

Source Book, pp. 325-329). Aristobulus and Ptolemy were gen- 
erals with Alexander. Discuss the sources used by Arrian in 
writing this account and name the three best sources. 



CHAPTER XX 
THE END OF THE GREEK STATES 

271. General View.— Owing to the greatness of Alexander, 
the history of Greece after his death covers a much broader 
area and is essentially different from that of the Greek re- 
publics which we have heretofore studied. From the city- 
states situated about the JEge&n Sea with the petty in- 
terests of their local wars the historian passes to the study 
of the whole civilized world of that time. The scene is broad- 
ened to include every country from India to the " Pillars of 
Hercules/' the great rock which is now called Gibraltar. 
Although some of the city-states, especially Sparta, retained 
their independence, they could not compare in power and in- 
fluence with the great kingdoms of Egypt, Syria, and Macedon. 

While the Greeks and Macedonians were ruling and de- 
veloping the old Oriental monarchies, the old Greek feeling 
of tribal differences gradually passed away. A new Greek 
speech, called the " common dialect," grew up out of the 
Attic, and became the language of Greeks everywhere. 
The Hellenic people living in Egypt or Asia no longer could 
call themselves citizens of Athens, Sparta, or Thebes. They 
were called " cosmopolitans," citizens of the wide Greek 
world. The time from Alexander's death to the conquest 
of the Greek kingdoms by Rome (about 300-100 b. c.) is 
called the " Hellenistic Period " or the " Alexandrine Age." 

272. Alexander's Empire Divided. — For the first few years 
after Alexander's death the question over which bloody 
wars were fought was this: Is the Empire to remain a unit 
or shall it be divided? Alexander left an heir, born to 
Roxane after his death. For a time the generals of the army 
agreed to rule various parts of the empire until this child 
should come of age, but all of them really desired to become 
kings of the provinces which they held. In 311 b. c. the 

15 215 



216 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

child and his mother were murdered. Then the struggle 
for power became an open contest. The ablest of Alexander's 
generals, Antigonus, was ruling Syria. From this country 
as his base of operations he attempted to conquer the whole 
empire of Alexander and unite it under his rule. In his 
wars he was assisted by his brilliant and erratic son, De- 
metrius, called the " Besieger of Cities.' ' In the year 301 
b. c. they were defeated at Ipsus in Phrygia by the combined 
forces of the other generals. Antigonus, then an old man, 
met his death upon the field, fighting with the courage and 
strength of youth. This was the end of any attempt to 
unite the whole of the East under one man's power. 

The final result of the war was the establishment of three 
great kingdoms, all ruled by Macedonian generals of Alex- 
ander. Ptolemy became king of Egypt, to which he had 
been sent immediately after Alexander's death. To Seleucus 
fell all of inner Asia as far as Alexander had ruled it. This 
great kingdom is called the Seleucid Empire. Cassander 
proclaimed himself king of Macedon. After his death, 
in 279 b. c, Macedon came into the power of Antigonus 
Gonatas, grandson of the Antigonus who had been killed 
at the battle of Ipsus. Under these three noble Macedonian 
families, the Ptolemies, the Seleucids, and the Antigonids, 
the kingdoms hewn out of Alexander's empire were ruled 
until, one after the other, they fell by conquest before the 
armies of the Roman republic. 1 

273. Warfare in the Third Century. — The political his- 
tory of the third century is a confused and bloody tale of 
intrigue and war between the rulers of Egypt, Macedon, 
and Asia. In their armies the use of mercenaries, men who 
made fighting a profession, greatly increased. The best 
of these were Macedonians and Greeks. The Seleucids 
adopted the scythe-bearing chariots which the Persians 
had used before them. It became the custom also to make 
use of great troops of elephants, trained to crush through 

1 To these must be added the kingdom of Pcrgamum which sprang 
up in western Asia Minor in the third century b. c. under a Macedonian 
named Attalus. 



THE END OF THE GREEK STATES 217 

the ranks of the opposing lines. Seleucus is said to have had 
480 of them in his army at the battle of Ipsus. In the second 
century b. c, they disappeared from warfare in the Mediter- 
ranean countries, because they often proved to be unmanage- 
able and, when wounded, as dangerous to friends as to foes. 
The science of besieging cities with large machines was 
developed to a higher point in this period than ever before. 
Engineers in the army of Demetrius built a wooden tower 
several stories in height, protected by raw hides upon the 
outside. This was equipped with catapults which threw 
stones and heavy darts, and was rolled up to the opposing 
walls on heavy wheels. 

274. Invasion of the Celts. — While the successors of Alex- 
ander were plotting and fighting for power, several tribes 
of Celts, the blue-eyed barbarians of northern Europe, 
crossed the Danube River and marched through Thessaly, 
Macedon, and Greece, plundering and gathering booty 
as they went. In the year 279 b. c. they were defeated near 
Delphi, and driven back. Soon after this Antigonus 
Gonatas defeated them again near the Hellespont. The 
Celts crossed over into Asia Minor and established a Celtic 
kingdom in central Asia Minor about the Halys River. 
From here they were accustomed to invade the surrounding 
countries until they gradually became " Hellenized," 
adopting the Greek tongue and its civilization. There 
exist to-day a number of sculptured memorials of their 
savage raids. The best known of these is the famous 
figure of the " Dying Gaul," now in a museum at Rome. 
We shall hear much more of the Celts when we take up the 
history of Rome and western Europe. 

275. Pyrrhus and the Western Greeks.— The inroad of the 
Celts into Greek territory is the first sign of military weak- 
ness shown by the Greeks. In the fifth century b. c, 
they had driven out the Persian invaders; in the fourth 
century they had conquered Persia. It is an ominous 
sign that a comparatively small band of uncivilized people 
could now settle permanently in the midst of the great 
empire which Alexander had won. 



218 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

In lower Italy, too, it became apparent at this time 
that the Greeks were on the decline, politically and in war- 
fare. A strong power had arisen in central Italy in the city 
o{ Rome. It had gradually widened its territory and in- 
creased in strength, until, in 280 b. c, trouble arose between 
Rome and the wealthy Greek city of Tarentuni. The 
Tarentines knew that they were no match for the legions 
of Home, and they turned therefore to the mother-country 
for help. Pyrrhus, king of Epirus, had been driven out 
of Macedon which he had hoped to add to his native king- 
dom, and he gladly welcomed the chance of adventure 



: 




m 

■V. V 






* 



. ,r 



-^ — — ... ^^^^ . 



ii 



in Dying Gaul. 



and a possible kingdom in Italy offered to him by the 
invitation of the Tarentines. 

In 280 b. c, he crossed the Adriatic with an army of 
20,000 mercenaries and twenty war-elephants. . The gen- 
eralship of Pyrrhus and the terror inspired by the attack 
of the elephants, which had never before been seen by the 
Remans, won him a hard-earned victory near Heraclea. 
But a Carthaginian attack open Syracuse forced him to leave 
the Tarentines to their own devices. When Pyrrhus returned 
from Sicily in 275 B. c, he was defeated by the Romans 
at Beneventum, and forced to return to Epirus. In 272 
B. C, Tarentum was taken by the Romans. Rome incor- 
porated all the Greek cities o( lower Italy in her republic, 



THE END OF THE GREEK STATES 219 

and the history of independent Greeks in that peninsula came 
to an end. 

276. Macedon in the Third Century. — Under Antigonus 
Gonatas and his successors, Macedon directed her energies 
to the end of bringing all the Greek peninsula firmly under 
her rule. In the confusion of the wars after Alexander's 
death, a number of the old city-states had been able to 
regain their former liberty of managing their own affairs. 
These states, led by Athens and Sparta, fought for their 
independence against the idea of monarchy. They were 
assisted by the kings of Egypt, who wished for supremacy 
over the iEgean Islands, and feared the growth of Mace- 
< Ionian power. But the day of the free city-state had passed, 
and a new political form arose; in the shape of the Greek 
leagues, or unions, to lead the fight against monarchy as 
represented by Macedon. 

277. The .ffitolian and Achaean Leagues. — These leagues 
were in principle somewhat like the union under which we live, 
though on a much smaller scale. They were composed of 
independent units, like our states, each of which surrendered 
a part of its rights in order to get the added strength which 
would come from being united under a strong central govern- 
ment. They differed from the former Greek leagues, such 
as the Delian League, in that each member had equal rights 
with all the others. 

It is one of the tragedies of Greek history that this at- 
tempt to form a union of democratic states came too late to 
meet with success. By combining many city-states into a 
union, the Achaean and /Etolian leagues assisted in destroy- 
ing that tribal feeling which we have so often noticed as the 
greatest weakness of the ancient Greeks. Thus the leagues, 
although they fought the monarchic idea, helped the mon- 
archies to put an end to the single city-states, their selfish 
desire for absolute independence, and their bloody wars. 
The organization and history of the Achaean League deserve 
special attention from American pupils, for the men 
who argued for a strong central government at the time 
our own constitution was framed often used the organ- 



220 THE HISTORY OF (IUEECE 

ization of the Achaean League to support their side in the 
contest. 1 

278. Growth of the Achaean League.— About 280 b. c, four 
small cities of Achaea — Patrae, Dyme, Tritaea, and Pharae — 

revived a protective league to which they had formerly be- 
longed. Gradually the League was strengthened, until in 
251 b. c. Aratus, a young politician of Sicyon, brought in 
his own city as a member. Aratus became the leading poli- 
tician of the League and was again and again elected Strate- 
gus (President). The action of Sicyon was followed by the 
chief cities of the Peloponnesus such as Corinth, Megara, 
and EpidaUTUS, until over one-half of the Peloponnesus be- 
longed to the League 1 . 

279. General Assembly of the League. The individual 
cities kept the right of attending to their local affairs in their 
own way, but all national affairs, such as declarations of 
war, treaties of peace, and alliances, were decided in the 
sovereign Assembly of the people of the entire League. This 
Assembly contained all the free men above t hirty years of 
age from all the cities of the League. It met once a year 
to elect officers and pass laws. 

In one respect it differed vastly from our national Con- 
gress. In the Greek democracies, as has been shown be- 
fore, every man wished to vote personally for every candi- 
date and on every law. They never thought of electing 
representatives who should go to the meetings and cast a 
vote for the people of the districts which had elected them. 
Every citizen of the League was compelled to go to the 
capital, .Lgium, if he wished to vote. Such a gathering is 
called a " primary " assembly, while our form is a " repre- 
sentative " assembly. In the Assembly of the Achaean 
League, each city had one vote, and the majority attending 
from that city decided which way the vote should be cast. 

Since no pay was given for attending the meetings of the 
Assembly, it was difficult for the poorer citizens to leave 

1 Mention of lln 1 Achaean League will he found in the "Federalist," 
:i series of articles written by Hamilton, Madison, and .lay, in support 
of our federal constitution. 



THE END OF THE GREEK STATES 221 

their work and go to the annual meetings. Consequently 
the voters were mainly members of the wealthier classes and 
the professional politicians. The poor had little influence. 

280. The Boule and Officials.— In addition to the As- 
sembly there was another body, the Boule, or Senate, which 
was composed of representatives from each of the cities. 
Their number and duties are not clearly known. 

The national officials of the League were elected for one 
year by the Assembly. The chief power lay with the Strate- 
gus. He was leader in war and executive head of the 
League; that is, he carried out the orders of the Assembly 
and Boule. He was assisted in the administration by the 
Hypo-strategus (Lieutenant-General), the Admiral, and the 
Secretary of State. To avoid the possibility that one man 
should gain too much power, it was not permitted that the 
same man should be Strategus in two successive years. 
Yet the people could elect him in alternate years as often as 
they wished. By having his friends elected in the other years 
and securing the office of Strategus each second year Aratus 
guided the policies of the League to the time of his death. 

Such was the organization of the Achaean League, the 
most important of the Greek federations. These federa- 
tions, although they lasted but little over a hundred years, 
are the highest political forms to which the Greek democ- 
racies attained. They give us another proof that the 
Greek genius was great in the field of politics, as well as in 
the fields of science and of art. 

281. The Revival of Sparta. — After the overthrow of the 
Spartan power by Epaminondas in the years 371-362 b. c, 
that state had played but little part in the politics of Greece. 
Her citizen-body had decreased to less than 1,000 and most 
of the land and other wealth was collected in the hands of a 
few families. About 245 B. c, the young King Agis and his 
uncle Agesilaus proposed measures which aimed at a thor- 
ough reform of the economic and political evils which had 
weakened the state. The Gerousia, however, voted them 
down. Agis was called before the Gerousia on the charge 
of treason, condemned to death, and executed. 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

The reform movement found an abler leader in Cleomenes, 
who came to the throne in 235 b.c. He strengthened his 

hold upon the people by his successful wars against the armies 
oi the Acluoan League led by Aratus. After a successful 
battle he returned to Sparta and murdered the Ephors who 
led the opposition to his plans oi reform. The Ephorate and 
the Gerousia wore entirely sot aside and the king's power 
greatly Increased. Tho land was divided Into small lots 
and given out to free Spartans. The grant of citizenship to a 
groat number of the Periceci still further increased the roll of 
citizens. The old Lycurgan training with its simple 
living was again introduced] :u\d tho black broth and 
coarse broad oi tho old Spartan days came again into 
honor. 

889 Aratus Summons Help from Macedon. —The reforms 
oi Cleomenes caused unrest among tho lower classes in tho 
Aoluoan League, who were in distress much as tho poor 
in Sparta had boon. The supremacy of Aratus was endan- 
gered when Cleomenes induced tho important cities of Cor- 
inth and Argos to revolt from the League. In order to save 
himself Aratus took tho fatal stop of calling in tho aid of tho 
Macedonian King against Sparta. Cleomenes was defeated 
by tho combined forces of Macedon and tho League (222 
b. c.) His plans for Sparta shattered] Cleomenes fled to 
Egypt where ho was forced to commit suicide two years later. 
His reforms were sot aside, and tho old order restored; but 
tho Aoluoan League had to pay dear for tho help of Macedon. 
Corinth was handed over to tho Macedonian King, and tho 
League foil under his domination. 

883. Macedon and Greece Conquered by Rome. -While 
Macedon, tho Greek leagues, and Sparta were engaged with 
tho troubles just discussed, tho city of Rome had boon fight- 
ing a war of life and death with Carthage. Philip V came 
to tho throne of Macedon in 220 B. c, a man of ability, am- 
bitious to increase his power. He arrayed himself with 
Carthago to weaken the power of Rome, who had already 
shown her strength in lUyria and was becoming a dangerous 
menace to the power of Macedon, 



THE END OF THE GREEK STATES 223 

In the year 202 b.c, Philip V and A.ntiochus III o( Syria 
schemed to conquer and divide Egypt between them. All 
the smaller Greek powers, the AStolian League, the commer- 
cial state of Rhodes, and the kingdom of Pergamum felt thai 
their Freedom too was endangered. Therefore they called 
upon Rome for help against the powerful kings <>f Macedon 
and Syria. In the war which followed (200 L97 b. c.)j Rome 
proclaimed that she had come as the liberator of the free 
Greek states from Macedonian oppression. The decisive 
battle was fought In Thessaly in L97 b, c, near the mountain 
called Cynoscephalse, the " Dog's-Heads." Philip was ut- 
terly defeated, but was allowed to retain his kingdom of 
Macedon. At the Isthmian games of the year L96 B.C., 
the Roman general Flamininus, amid the wild shouts o{ tin 
assembled Greeks, proclaimed the Greek states free. 

The successor o( Philip, his son Perseus, stirred up a 
national Greek war against the influence o( Rome. With 

his defeat in the year L68 B. C, the Macedonian kingdom 

came to an end, The leagues and the Independent cities 
o( Greece fell more :md more under Roman guidance. In 
the year 146 B.C., the independence o( Greece ended when 
Rome formed the province o\' Macedon, and began to rule 
all Greece as a subject country. Never again was Greece a 
free ami independent country, until it drove out its Turkish 

rulers less than a hundred years ago. 

284. Syria and Egypt. The defeat ol' Philip Y in 197 B.C, 
showed the strength o^ the Roman Republic. Bui An- 
tiochus 111 o^i Syria did not appreciate it, nor did he see 
the determination o( the Roman Senate to permit no great 
power to exist in the East which might endanger Rome's 
leadership in politics and trade. Unwisely he followed an 
invitation o( the .Ktolian League to come into Greece ami aid 

them in a war against the Roman arms. The war Lasted 
from 191 to 189 b. c In the battle o\' Magnesia in Asia 
Minor (190 b. c) 3 Antiochns washadly defeated,and the power 
o^ this Macedonian king of Syria was broken at one blow, 
We read of Seleucid kings and o( the Macedonian Ptolemies 
ruling in Syria and Egypt until the middle o( the first cen- 



224 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

tury b. c, but their power was weak. Their policies were 

guided by the Roman Senate, and they dared not disobey 
its orders. The Macedonian dynasties of the East ceased 

forever with the death of Cleopatra. Queen oi Egypt, in the 
year 31 B. C. 

References for Outside Reading 

Plutarch, Lives of Demetrius, Pyrrhus, Aratus. Agis, and Cleomenes; 

Fling, Source Book, eh, 13; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 
346-356, 376-391; Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire; Botsford, Orient and 
Greece, 318-330; Shuckburgh, Greece to A. P. 14, pp. 235-310; 
Mahaffy, Progress of Hellenism in Alexander's Empire, pp. 31-61; 
Soicnobos. Ancient Civilization, pp. 188-195. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Careeb anp Death of Etjmenes, the Greek.— Plutarch, 

Life of Eumenes. 

2. The Career op Demetrius, City Besieger. — Plutarch, Life of 

Demetrius. 

3. A Comparison of the Work and Characteb of Aratus \nd 

Cleomenes. — Plutarch, I s / Aratus and Cleomenes. 

4. How Pyrrhus Won the Kingdom of Macedon Fkom De- 

metrius, nu: Cm Besieger. — Plutarch, Pyrrhus, ch, 10-11. 



CHAPTER XXI 

THE HELLENIZ1NG OF THE EAST AND ITS 
INDUSTRIAL LIFE 

285. The Historical Importance of the Hellenistic King- 
doms. -It is more important to know the results of the rule 
of the Hellenes in Asia and in Egypt than to know how and 
why their kingdoms fell. This importance lies in the fact 
that Greek life and its ideals were adopted by the people of 
Asia and Egypt. But the Asiatics also had their influence 
upon the Greeks; and the result was a new and cosmopolitan 
life which has been called the Hellenistic lite. 

We have seen that the colonization begun by Alexander 
was carried on consistently by his Seleucid successors in the 
kingdom of Syria. It is difficult to determine how deeply 
this " Hellenizing " of Asia affected the country. The 
cities, where the Greek tongue was used in official and 
business relations, were quite Greek in their customs and 
outward appearance. In the villages off the main caravan 
routes and in the country districts the old native manners 
and language^ retained their hold. 

The city-names of the new Greek colonies were all Greek 
or Macedonian, and the inhabitants showed the old Greek 
interest in festivals and games. The ruins of these cities 
show the Greek columned temples, the Greek public gym- 
nasia and baths. Along with other Hellenic customs, the 
young Asiatics adopted the dress of their Greek rulers, 
broad-brimmed Greek hats, the chlamys, which was a cloak 
held by a clasp upon the right shoulder, and boots which 
laced high up on the legs. They attended the Greek plays 
in the theater, and learned to know the dramas of Sopho- 
cles and Euripides. The governments of these cities were 
on the old Greek plan, with its division into tribes, with its 
Boule and Assembly. But only the Greek colonists and the 

225 



226 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 




members of the armies, chiefly Greeks and Macedonians, 
were regarded as citizens. 

286. Hellenization of Palestine and the Reaction. —The 
adoption of Greek ways. Greek language, and Greek thought 

naturally met with opposition in the Orient. 
This national opposition is most clearly seen 
in Palestine. AntiochuslY. the Seleucid king 
oi Syria, who began his rule in 1 7^ B. c, was 
an enthusiastic supporter of Hellenism, lie 
men tried to force the Jews to give up their 
religion, their worship oi Jehovah, the one 
God. for the worship of the Greek deities with 
Zeus at their head. In 168 B. c, he command- 
ed the Jews on pain oi death to give up their 
old religious observances. The temple of Je- 
QkbbkYoi ^ u*- hovah at Jerusalem was dedicated to Zeus. 
N c ..; ££ SAND and the Greek religion formally established. 
r:v .. , . This high-handed policy brought about 

a revolt of the Jews led by the family of the 
Maccabees, which eventually resulted in the overthrow of 
Syrian authority in Palestine. The Jews were an independent 
people from 145 to63 B. c, when they too became a subject 
kingdom of the vast Roman Empire, But the Helleniiing 
influence went quietly on in Palestine despite the national Jew- 
ish reaction. The influence of Greek thought may be clearly 
traced in the books oi the New Testament, the writings of 
the disciples of Ghrist. 

287, Hellenism in Egypt. — The Reset t a stone, by which 
the hieroglyphs were deciphered, may also be used to help 
us understand how Greek ideas and life spread over Egypt, 
It is a decree of the priests of Egypt at the crowning of 
king Ptolemy V [196 B. c.V They express their satisfaction 
at his coronation, and decree that a statue of him be set up 
in every temple. 

The early Ptolemies had paid very little attention to the 
Egyptians. Their armies were composed of Greeks and 
Macedonians, and all the government offices were held by 
them. The Helleni.-ing of Egypt was rapid. It was con- 



THE EAST \\n ITS [NDUSTRIAL LIFE 



227 




Cora with Head of 
Ptoi niv V of Egypt. 

Tli!' Coin is Minted iu 
the Greek Style. 



sidered fashionable for Egyptians to change their old names 

for Greek names. The national resistance to this Greek 

advance lay with the old priesthood. The decree on the 

Rosetta Stone shows that the young King had changed from 

the old policy and was ready to give 

the Egyptians, too, some share in the 

government. Documents of a later time 

show that the following Ptolemies regarded 

themselves as rulers o( the Egyptians, as 

well as of the thousands o( Greeks and 

Macedonians who had settled in Egypt. 

Notice that the inscription on the 
Rosetta st one is in the Greek tongue as 
well as in two forms of the Egyptian. 
This fact will tell you how many people 
there must have been in Egypt who could read Greek more 
readily than Egyptian. The national Egyptian opposition to 
the influence o( the Greeks did not, in the v\u\, avail much. 
Under the later Ptolemies (in the first century b.c.)j and after 
the time o( Christ, when the Romans ruled Egypt, Greek be- 
came the sole official language. The hieroglyphs were tised 
no more, and the knowledge of what they stood for was 
lost to the world until restored by Champollion. 

288. How the Hellenic Customs Lasted in the East.— The 
following copy of an inscription shows how persistently 
the Greek customs, sacred games, ami language endured 
throughout the East long after the Greek city-states and 
kingdoms had been absorbed into the Roman Empire. This 
inscription, written in Greek, was set up in the year 221 
a. D., and tells of the victories of a famous athlete, a Syrian 
probably, who had adopted a Latin-Greek name: 

1, Auivlius Septimius Irenseus, son o( Eutyches, a colonist of 
Laodicea Metropolis and citizen of other cities, I alone from my 
Dative city have contested in every form o( trial ami was vic- 
torious in the games mentioned below: in the general Pythic 
Severian games at Csesarea Augusta, in boxing; in the Actian 
games oi Augustus in the boys' class, at Xieopolis. in boxing; in 
the boys' class of the Heraclean Commodiao games at Tyre, in 



228 THE history OF GREECE 

boxing; in the youths' class o( the general local Olympian Com- 
modian at Tarsus, in boxing; in the men's class oi the general 
Antonian games, in my native city Laodicea, in boxing; and I 
contended for the laurel crown in the men's class at boxing 
during the consulship oi Messala and Sabinus at the quinquen- 
nial games held on the third day before the kalends o( January. 
In the contests for a money prize oi a talent l : 
At Ascalon. Scythopolis, and Sidon, thrice; at Tripolis twice; 
at Leucas, thrice, boxing and running; at Hierapolis, thrice, 
boxing, wrestling, and pancratium": at Bercea, twice: at Zeugma, 
twice; at Apamea, thrice; at Chalcis, boxing, running; at 
Salamis, thrice; at Citium, boxing and pancratium; at Mazaca, 
twice; at Iconium. boxing and running; at Antioch, boxing and 
running; at Taras, boxing; at Adana, twice: at Mopsuhestia, 
twice. 

289. The Western Spirit in Egypt and Asia. —The Hel- 
lenizing o( Egypl and western Asia, i.e., the introduction of 
Greek life and thought, is doubly interesting to us when 
we consider that a similar process is now going on in those 
same countries. Railroads are being Iniilt in Asia Minor 
and in Egypt, and European capital is being invested in 
other ways. European and American business ideas have 
been slowly forcing their way into India and China, more 
recently into Persia and Turkish Asia. The knowledge oi 
the European languages, especially English i\nd German, is 
rapidly spreading. In faet, the Orient is being awakened 
slowly to Western Ideas. 

This same work was done by the Greeks in the days after 
Alexander, more completely and more quickly than in our 
own time, because the immigration of Westerners into Egypt 
and Asia was far greater then than at the present day. 

290. Industrial Effect of Alexander's Conquest. -The ca- 
reer o( Alexander was as significant in the business world 

l The talent was worth normally about $1,080. In this period it 
must be reckoned at about $1,300 with a higher purchasing power than 

that amount would have in our tune. 

'The pancratium was a contest in which both boxing and wrest- 
ling were combined. 



THK BAST AM) ITS [NDUSTRIAL LIFE 229 

of Greece as it was in the political world. When Greeks 
ami Macedonians moved by thousands into Egypt and Asia 
to take advantage o( the business opportunities in these 
countries, the avenues and centers of Greek trade were 
shifted to new places. Greece had been, geographically, 
almost the center o( the Hellenic world o( commerce, but 
when Greek colonization extended to India. Greek trade 
followed it. The peninsula oi Greece was now on the west- 
ern edge of the Greek sphere of trade, and the commerce 
of Athens and the other cities of Greece was not to be com- 
pared with that o( several of the newly founded cities o( 
Syria and Egypt. The decay of the mother-country must 
be laid to this cause, and to the wars which were waged in 
Greece almost ceaselessly from the death o( Alexander to the 
time of the Roman domination. 

291. New Trade Centers: Alexandria. -The greatest of 
the new cities was Alexandria, situated upon one of the 
mouths o( the Nile. It had the only Large and safe harbor 
in northern Egypt, and was the natural outlet into the 
Mediterranean for Egyptian grain and other products. The 
Ptolemies did everything possible to increase t ho trade of 
Alexandria, to beautify it. and to make it the greatest me- 
tropolis of the world. The brilliant Egyptian court was main- 
tained there. It was the station for all the government 
officials, and the largest military garrison in Egypt. The 
city grew with marvelous rapidity until it numbered fully 
a half million o( inhabitants. 

One o( the chief points of interest for visitors was the 
Zoological Gardens, situated near the royal palace. Here 
wild animals from Africa and A-ia were collected, huge 
snakes, ostriches, antelopes, and other animals such as we 
see in our menageries. 

292. The Lighthouse on the Island of Pharos.— The light- 
house built on the little island of Pharos in the harbor 
at Alexandria indicates the commercial importance of the 
city. It was regarded by the ancients as one of the most won- 
derful buildings in the world. Its si/e gives us a £ood idea of 
the mechanical skill and knowledge of the Greeks in Hel- 



230 



THE lllsrOKY OV GREECE 



lenistio times, Built at an expense of about $1,000,000, it 
towered to a height of over 325 feet, A Greek port tells 
us how its tower " ou1 straight into the air, visible for many 
miles by day, All night long the sailor, running before the 
wave, will see a great fire gleaming from its top." The 
light was thrown out io a great distance, as in modern 
lighthouses, by a system ^\ powerful mirrors. 




\ Ursr.M! v no\ OF rnr LIGHTHOUSE OF PHAROS 

From rhiersoh, 

898. Routes from Rfypt to India, Alexandria had two 
great lines o\' travel by which it might send its own goods 
or the products oi tho western Mediterranean to the Mast. 
The first was by boat to Antioch, from there by caravan to 
Seleucia, and through t ho desert to India, The second was 
used far more; by boat th8 wares went up the Nile to 
Coptus, thence by caravan in a southeasterly direction, to 
Berenice, a journey ^\ about 18 days from Alexandria, tn 
the caravan trade o( the desert, camels, exclusively, were 
used as pack-animals, In summer, marches were made by 
night, from one water-supply to another, to avoid the burn- 
ing desert heat, Tins method o\' transportation was slow. 
about 20 or 25 miles being covered each day. In Berenice 
there were warehouses where the goods were stored until 
the time for shipment came, They were loaded upon large 
sailing vessels and smt round Arabia by sea to India, rhe 
Alexandrians became famous as seamen, One o( their vessels 



THE EAST AM) I rS INDUSTRIAL LIFE 231 

has been described by an ancient writer, It was a three- 
tnasted sailing vessel about 180 feet long; its greatest width 
was ;>i) feet, and its oapaoity, 1,575 tons. The ancient ves- 
sels had an average speed of about six miles an hour. 

294. Wares Exchanged with the East. Tin' Alexandrian 
merchants brought back silks from China] raw cotton, 
ivory, pearls, and other gems from India; incense, pepper, 
and other spices from Arabia. For these they exchanged 
the famous linens woven on the Alexandrian looms and 
glassware made by Alexandrian glass-blowers, the carpets, 
ointments, and perfumes manufactured In the city, 'This 
city had furthermore a monopoly o\ the manufacture o( 
paper made from the stems o\' the papyrus, a plant which 
grew plentifully along the Nile. 

Throughout Roman times, even down (o the present 
day, Alexandria has always retained some of its old commer- 
cial importance. The devotion to business in the life of 
the city is well illustrated by an extract from a writer of the 
third century a. d, " Alexandria is a city of wealth and lux- 
ury in which no one is idle. This man is a glass-worker, 
that a paper-maker, a third a weaver in linen. Money is 
their only god." 

295. Other Large Centers of Trade. Other great commer- 
cial cities were: 

1, Seleucia, on the Tigris, where the great highway which 
drained the northeast met the caravan route from tin 1 Persian 
Gulf. Through it passed all the caravan trade from India to the 

West. 

2, .1 ////'<)(■//. on the Orontes River in Syria. Most of the trade 
from Egypt, Greece, or the western Mediterranean, going into 
western Asia, was shipped through this city. 

3, Rhodes lay in the direct line o\' all shipping from Egypt and 
Antioch to Greece and Macedon. Because of its favorable 
position it became one o\' the great transfer points in the eastern 
and western trade. 

296. Banking and Money. The great increase in trade 
necessitated the greater use of money. Before the time o\' 
Alexander the Attic coinage had predominated in the Greek 

10 



232 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



world. It was displaced by the silver coins stamped with the 
head of Alexander, which were minted throughout the East 
long after his death. This change coincides with the Athe- 
nian loss of supremacy in trade. 

A growth in the number of banks and a better organiza- 
tion of the banking business resulted from the stimulation 
of trade. Many of the Greek cities estab- 
lished banks which were directed by public 
officials. This is best seen in Egypt, where 
the government started a national banking 
system with its central bank in Alexandria. 
Each nome, or district, had its branch bank 
under which were the local banks in the 
larger towns. The latter were farmed out 
to companies of capitalists who had a 
monopoly of the banking business in their 
own districts. 

The general rate of interest on well 
secured loans had been 12% about 350 
b. c. In the third century this fell to 10%, and in the second as 
low as 7%. This seems to show that the monarchies which 
followed Alexander gave the old Persian Empire and the 
Greek world a stable and safe government, in which the 
risk of a loss in business enterprises was small. 




Greek Silver Coin 

Minted by Seleucus 

I of Syria. 

After Alexander's Con- 
quest the Coinage of Syria 
was entirely Greek. 



References for Outside Reading 

Mahaffy, Progress of Hellenism in Alexander's Empire, pp. 65-105; 
Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire, ch. 20; Cunningham, Western Civiliza- 
tion, vol. 1, pp. 124-139; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 
277-284. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Trace by means of the Classical Atlas the extent of the travels of 

Aurelius Septimius Irenaeus during his athletic career. 

2. Revolt of the Maccabees. — Encyclopedia under "Maccabees" 

and "Judas Maccabseus". 

3. The City of Rhodes.— Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire, pp. 190- 

198; Mahaffy, Survey of Greek Civilization, pp. 277-280. 

4. Recent Finds of Papyri.— The Outlook for July 11, 1908, pp. 

566-571 ; Current Literature, vol. 28, pp. 301-302. 



. CHAPTER XXII 
THE INTELLECTUAL LIFE OF THE HELLENISTIC AGE 

297. General Character of the Age.— The most marked 
characteristic of the Hellenistic period of Greek history is 
its absorbing interest in the sciences. The period stretching 
from Alexander's death to 100 a.d. bears a remarkable like- 
ness to our own time in the eager search for knowledge about 
practical things, of the extent and form of the world, the 
animals which inhabited it, and of the human body and its 
ailments. 

The scientist and philosopher, Aristotle, is the forerunner 
and leader of the new spirit. He set the minds of men 
upon the new pathway of scientific thought, and the search 
after nature's truths; and it was his pupil, Alexander the 
Great, who changed the political currents of the time and 
levelled the way for the great world-empire under the sway 
of Rome. 

298. Interest in Geography Awakened.— Before Alexan- 
der's time the Hellenes knew little about the world except- 
ing that part which lay about the Mediterranean Sea. 
Alexander's soldiers passed through lands unknown to the 
Greeks, stretching from Babylon northward to the Cas- 
pian Sea, and eastward to the Indus River. They took 
back home the knowledge of all this country, and awakened in 
the alert minds of the Greeks a new desire to know the world. 

This resulted in voyages undertaken for the sake of ge- 
ographical discovery. One of the generals of Seleucus ' I 
sailed upon the Caspian Sea and learned something of its 
size, but he did not sail far enough north to learn that it 
was an inland sea. He thought that it was an inlet of 
the great northern ocean. 

A Greek named Pytheas, living in Massilia (Marseilles) 
in Gaul, sailed up to the northern end of Britain, and from 

233 



234 



THE HISTORY OF GREECE 



there to the mouth oi the Elbe River. Be returned with 
tales of the northern lights and the Polar sea with its ice- 
bergs, stories which the Greeks could not believe. 

On the basis of all the new information Eratosthenes 
(about '2o0 b. c.)j of the African city of Cyrene, constructed 
a map oi the world which shows the new idea oi the Greeks 



c > \ r c r i c 



C 



:: 




\ . • \ r or ra s n- V. .n. to EratoSTHKH - 

about its extent and the shape oi the continents. He 
thought that the earth was round and figured out that its 
circumference was about 31,250 miles. Even more startling 
in its accuracy than this was the bold statement of the 
Samian Greek. Aristarehus. who also lived in the third cen- 
tury n.c. He reasoned that the sun was larger than the 
earth, and that the theory that all men had held up to that 
time, that the sun revolved around the earth, was incor- 
rect. On the other hand, he said, the earth and the planets 
revolve around the sun. This theory was accepted by 
only a few thinkers in antiquity, and was advanced, as a 
new belief, by Copernicus in the sixteenth century after 
Christ. 

299. Progress in other Branches of Science.— To the period 
immediately following Alexander's death belongs the work 



THE LIFE OF THE BELLENISTIC AGE 235 

upon plants by TheophrastllS oi Athens. His descriptions 
oi plants, and their different kinds, mark the beginning of 
the systematic science of botany. 

Euclid, the mathematician, who worked in Alexandria 
about 300 B.C., was the pioneer in geometry and one oi the 
ablest minds which that science had produced. The geo- 
metric propositions which he advanced form the basis oi 
our text-books to this day. 

In physics, the greatest name oi antiquity was that oi 
Archimedes oi Syracuse. In 212 B.C., his native city was 
besieged by the Romans. The ingenuity oi Archimedes was 
turned to use in the defense of the city. Ancient writers 
state that he made use oi powerful burning-glasses to con- 
centrate the rays oi the sun upon the Roman tleet. thus 
sotting tire to their ships. It is doubtful whether this story 
is true. Among his practical inventions was a now form 
of catapult, in which the range oi the missiles could be ex- 
tended or shortened. It is said that he built a machine 
consisting oi levers and great beams with large iron grap- 
pling hooks at the ends. When the Roman ships came too 
near the walls, these beams fell upon them. They were 
seized by the iron hooks, raised aloft, and dropped in such a 
position that they immediately sank. The services of 
Archimedes in the science of mathematics rank much higher 
than these practical inventions. In the massacre which fol- 
lowed the taking of the city by the Romans. Archimedes 
met his death. 

300. The New Centers of Learning: Alexandria.— It is 
interesting to note that these scientists came from various 
parts oi the Greek world. Samos, Alexandria, Cyrene, or 
Syracuse, Athens had lost her peculiar preeminence in the 
world of the Greek intellect. Throughout the history of 
the ancient world she remained honored for her glorious past; 
and her schools, established by the philosophers, were sought 
out by students from all parts of the civilized world. But 
other cities had arisen to compete with her in literature, art, 
and scientific research. 

The most important of these eitie was Alexandria. The 



236 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

Ptolemies were cultured princes whose pride iu the city 
made them eager to develop its intellectual as well as its 
commercial life, and. with the immense riches oi Egypt at 
their command, they started to collect, in buildings erected 

for that purpose, copies of all the works oi the great writers 
oi the past. So they have the honor of having founded the 
first large library in the world's history. The books came 
in the form oi rolls of papyrus or sheepskin. Since a parch- 
ment containing the whole oi the Iliad, for example, would 
be unwieldy, the librarians and their assistants divided the 
elassie works into short " books." or chapters. Each 
"book" then formed one roll. Thus the Iliad and the 
Odyssey were divided into twenty-four books each, the /' 
sian Wars oi Herodotus into nine. The library soon had 
400.000 rolls, all catalogued and edited by the best scholars 
of the day. 

301. The Museum. The Ptolemies called to this library 
the most noted scholars oi the time, and paid them good 
salaries for the work they did in cataloguing and preparing 
the books. These scholarly men had time to study all man- 
ner oi scientific subjects, to write books, and so to give their 
knowledge to the world. 

The whole establishment the library, hall for public lec- 
tures, botanical and zoological gardens, and observatory was 
called the Museum. It was like a university supported by 
some wealthy man. whose professors devote themselves to 
research rather than to teaching students. The lit erat tire 
which these men produced was by no means so good as that 
produced in Athens in the fifth century B.C. Their service 
to the world was in preserving for future generations the best 
texts oi the classic Greek authors. Homer, .Kschylus. Sopho- 
cles. Euripides, and others. 

302. Pergamum. About 280 B.C. a noble Macedonian 
family took advantage of the ceaseless wars between the 
kings who succeeded Alexander to establish a small mon- 
archy in central Asia Minor. Its capital was the city oi 
Pergamum. about 20 miles inland from the Mediterranean. 
Here the dynasty of the Attalids. named after King Attains. 



THE LIFE OF THE HELLENISTIC At; E 237 

built up a small but very wealthy state which remained 
independent until taken over by Rome in b>;> B.C. The 
acropolis of the city was adorned with fine and costly stone 
temples and public buildings. In L875 the German govern- 
ment began excavations there which have given us an in- 
sight into the life o( a Greek city of those days. 

Not to be outdone by the Ptolemies as liberal and cul- 
tured Hellenic princes, the Altalids, too, built a library, and 
stocked it with books. Since the Ptolemies had control of 
the output o( papyrus and would not export it, the books at 










Restoration of ran A.cbopous vr Pbroamum, 

Pergamum were written upon sheepskin, which has taken 
the name "parchment" (originally " pergament ") from 
the name of the city. 

The acropolis, upon which the library stood, must have 
been a wonderful mass of stone buildings. Here was the 
great altar of Zens, which is now in Berlin. It is a stone 
structure, 110 by 120 feet, with a magnificent frieze running 
around it upon the outside. This frieze portrays the fabled 
fight of olden times between the giants and the Greek gods 
for the rule of the earth. It contains several hundred figures, 
most of them about eight feet in height. It is a marvelous 
work. With wild and restless motion these massive figures 
seem to struggle for victory. When St. John wrote, in 
Revelation, Chapter II, to the people of Pergamum, he said 
that they dwelt "where the throne of Satan is." The ref- 
erence is to this pagan altar oi Zens. 

Through the liberality of the Attalids, Pergamum became 



238 



THE HISTORY OV GREECE 




Boi m i'ii v Goose, 



one o( the central points of Bellenistic culture. It developed 
a school oi sculpture o( its own. Its kings had to fight 

terrible battles with the Celts who invaded Asia Minor, and 

the study o( this wild northern type 
became a favorite subject for the 
sculptor. Celtic warriors lying dead 
on the field or in their death-agonies 
are depicted with striking realism. 
The "Dying Gaul" is the best 
known work of this school. 

303. Hellenistic Art. In sculp- 
tnre and architecture, the Greeks 
o( the wide Hellenistic world were 
able to produce works which must 
be called great, though they differ 
) much from the mas- 
terpieces o( Phidias 
and Praxiteles and 

thegreal architects of the Periclean Age, The 

taste of the Hellenes had changed. Now 

they wanted realism, works of art which 

showed restless pain ami emotion. In place, 

therefore, oi the majestic and peaceful gods 

of Phidias, they carved ami painted studies 

from life, such as a drunken old woman; a 

naked, sturdy, little rascal who is strangling a 

goose; or they attempted to depict suffering 

and terror, as in the famous group which shows 

Laocoon and his sons in the deadly coils o\ 

huge snakes. The " Victory of Samothrace, " 

the "Apollo Belvedere," and the "Venus" 

found upon the island of Melos, small copies 

o( which are seen in so many o( our modern 

homes, show that Greek sculptors could, men 

at that period, carve statues of such beauty that they please 

modern critics as much as they once delighted the people 

o( the ancient world. 

In architecture, columned buildings in the Corinthian 




4 



H 




Fill \ l \l s OF 

Mil os. 



THE LIFE OF THE BELLEMSTIC AGE 239 

style, more ornate and perhaps less dignified than the older 
orders, became very popular. The greal altar at Pergamum 

shows this love of ornamentation. It was this later Hel- 
lenistic taste which spread over the world during the time of 
the Roman Empire, rather than the calmer and more severe 
art of the Periclean period. 

304. Hellenistic Literature.— Although the Hellenistic 
period produced no literature which can be compared with 
that o( the age o( Pericles in grandeur or classic beauty, it 
did bring into the world several new and charming forms of 
writing which have lived until the present day. Theocritus, 
who spent most of his life at Syracuse (born about 300 B. a), 
was a master in the writing o( "pastoral poems." These are 
songs o( shepherd life in Sicily, charming in style, but not 
realistic pictures o( the actual hard life o( the shepherds. 
Yet these artificial poems pleased the readers of that time; 
for it was an age of bio; cities, and the people who lived in the 
dust and heat o( the cities enjoyed these sentimental poems, 
which breathed o( the green fields and the hills of Sicily. 

A second new product o( this age was the Hellenistic novel, 
or love-story, which usually told the adventures o^i a pair of 
lovers — how they were shipwrecked, seized by pirates or 
robbers, and separated. In the end, however, they were al- 
ways reunited and happily married. Until 000 a. d. this 
type o( the novel was a popular form of reading. 

The "New Comedy" o( this period shows the same at- 
tempt to be true to life as appears in the sculpture of the 
time. The comedies of Menander, an Athenian writer 
(about 340-292 b. a), were so realistic that a critic of the 
ancient world praised their writer in these words: "O 
Menander! Life! which of yon copied the other'?" When 
the Romans, about 200 B.C., became interested in Greek 
literature, it was the New Comedy which pleased them most. 
Writers of Latin began to copy and translate for the Romans 
the works of Menander and other Greek writers o( the New 
Comedy. Btit the Greek originals were far superior to the 
Latin copies of them. Such, at least, was the opinion of 
the great Julius Csesar, who said of Terence, one of the 



240 rur HISTORY OF GRKE< 

Roman imitators of Menander, that he was only a "half- 
Menander*" 

.V.v Hellenistic Religion and Philosophy In Uollonistio 
times the questioning spirit of the Sophists and the dis 
cnssions of Greek philosophers and scientists spread amoi 
the mass of people, weak the old faith in the gods of the 

ancient Greek religion, [t is true that the festivals of the 
gods were still celebrated with great pomp, and the mass of 
the people still offered their sacrifices and prayed as before. 
But the worship of Zeus, Hera Apollo, Vthona. and the rest 
of I Is had lost its real heart and vitality 

S tne men went so far as to - aj that the world is guided 
any divine spirit whatever v 
hemerus, published a roman< \ hich he related that he had 

me to an island in the Indian Ocean; there he had learned 
that the Greek gods were really men of the olden time, 

x gs and whom men had come to w 

because of their . deeds, rhe Greeks of Hellt 
times did worship their own kings, and hence it was 
markable that the work of Euhemerus became verj popular 

and that his explanation of tJ gin of the gods was ac- 

cepted hy man rue, 

906 The Philosophy Ol KpfouniS horn S42 B C s The 
whole Hellenic . ous i rhe loss 

of faith, without any •.-.. -w belief to take its plaoe, is host 
shown in the philosophic b - tie taug 

that the world had not been made by anj g g Is 

that it was composed of atoms of many kinds, wh ■'■•. 
happened to form into the shape of the ? 
He believed that there ^. : .^ only one object for men 
rsue, namely* Happiness, [t was right, tl or men 

do all those things w aich would gi> e them pleasure, and 
avoid everything which won". Uth his 

seems a very selfish waj ofthii ; ads 

really lived noble lives Phej avoided all gross pleasures 

ankenn 
that these did not >piness 

OUnd in studios which bring poaoo ai 



nil' LIFE OF rm: 1111 inisric \ci' 24] 

quiel of mind, rhe beliefs o\ Epicurus were held by many 
until about ioo \.i>., when Christianity became firmly es- 
tablished in the ancient world. 

;>07. Stoicism, Much nobler and more important in their 
influence were the moral teachings found in the Stoic phi- 
losophy, li was founded by Zeno, a Jew who opened a school 
at Athens about 300 b. c, Like many other non Greeks of 
his day, he was Greek in his training and sympathies. The 

Stoic school gets its name t'roni the fact that Zeno ami his 

disciples taught in the Painted Hall (Stoa) in the market- 
place in Athens. 

Stoicism is really a religion. It taught that some god 
ruled the world and that his will had made everything in it 

for the service of men. This Stoic god was not the doA o( 

the Hebrews, the Father who guarded His children upon 
earth, hut an indefinite spirit who controlled nature ami ap- 
peared in all its forms, in the course o\ the sun. moon, and 

stars, ami in the general harmony o( the universe. The 
Stoics did not go so far as to deny the existence o( the other 
Greek gods, hut they regarded them as inferior deities who 
had nothing to do with the ruling o\ the world. 

308. Its Ethical Teachings. Virtue and goodness wore to 

the Stoics the only things to be sought in life, vice and base- 
ness the only causes o( uuhappiness. So they tried to learn 
what virtue was and to act accordingly. Sickness and death 

were things in the order o\ nature which providence had set. 
Therefore sickness ami death were not evils in their eyes; ami 
the Stoics endured pain and trouble with a cheerfulness anil 
Indifference which has given us our modern phrase, "stoical" 
bravery. 

The Stoic teachings breathe something o\' the Christian 
spirit, and indeed influenced Christian thought in the early 
stages of its development. But Stoicism lacked many 
things that have made Christianity so strong in its appeal to 
men. It lacked the personal love o( the Father tor men. It 

lacked the idea o( a life for each separate soul after death, 

to compensate for the sorrows o\ this world. Although 
Stoicism produced some very admirable characters in an- 



242 THE HISTORY OF GREECE 

tiquity, it was reserved for the Jews to give us, in Christian- 
ity, a religion of hope and mercy and love which gradually 
rooted out and displaced all the old religions and philoso- 
phies, even the noble teachings of Stoicism. 

309. What the Hellenes did for Civilization.— Through 
the agency of the Hittites and Cretans the knowledge 
which the Egyptians, Babylonians, and other nations of 
western Asia had gained, was passed on to the Hellenes. 
To the progress already made they added much. Most 
important in their gifts to the human race was the idea 
of the individual man and his freedom to work out his des- 
tiny in the line in which his talents lay. We hear very little 
in Greek history about hereditary kings and a noble aris- 
tocracy. The man of the middle class, the citizen, whether 
rich or poor, was given a chance to use his talents 
in guiding the state. The idea of democracj^ the rule of 
the citizen people, came into the world through the Greeks, 
and has been the heritage of the ages ever since. The 
Greeks originated new types of literary expression, the 
drama, comedy, the romance, the essay. In all branches 
of literature they left a legacy of great works, which have 
always remained the inspiration of serious writers and 
thinking men. In sculpture they carved masterpieces. 
The study of these, even in Roman copies, has meant a 
great deal to artists throughout later times. The "Hermes" 
of Praxiteles is as much a possession of the world to-day 
as it was of Greece in the fourth century, for its appeal 
to the human love of beauty is eternal. 

In philosophy their work was fundamental. They laid 
the basis for all future philosophic thought and influenced 
even Christianity itself, both through the ideas of the 
Greek philosophers adopted by the early Christian writers, 
and by destroying the old Greek belief in the existence of 
many gods. They gave us the love of scientific truth 
for its own sake, and separated the fields of the different 
sciences. What they attained in these fields of philosophy, 
art, and science they spread over all that part of the world 
which was then civilized. The world into which Christ 



THE LIFE 01 THE HELLENISTIC AGE 243 

was born was an Hellenic world in its modes of thought. 
Of the many languages of that world, Greek, at least, was 
spoken almost everywhere. Using this one language and 
appealing to a world unified by the spirit of Greece, it was 
made possible for Christianity to become the religion of that 
world. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 183-187; Mahaffy, Progress of 
Hellenism in Alexander's Empire, pp. 84-88, 109-149; Mahaffy. Survey 
of Greek Civilization, pp. 254-277, 284-291; Mahaffy, Alexander's Em- 
pire, ch. 14, 20, 23; Capps, Homer to Theocritus, pp. 430 to the end; 
Tarbell, History of Greek Art, ch. X. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Reading, Writing, and the Making of Books. — Culick, Life 

of the Ancient Greeks, pp. 85, 108-112; The Classical Diction- 
aries, Smith or Harper, under "Books" and "Writing." 

2. Great Altar of Zeus at Pergamum. — Tarbell, Greek Art, 

pp. 261-264. 

3. The Svracusan Women at Alexandria, by Theocritus. — 

Capps, Homer to Theocritus, pp. 452-456. 

4. The Occasion for Setting up the Victory of Samothrace. — 

Tarbell, pp. 247-249. 

5. The Education of a Greek Boy. — Gulick, Life of the Ancient 

Greeks, ch. 10; Tucker, Life in Ancient AUtens, ch. 9. 



PART III 
Tllbl STORY OF ROME 



CHAPTER XXI H 
ITALY: ITS PEOPLE AND EARLY HISTORY 

310. Westward Progress of Civilization. — The story of 
the progress of European-American civilization is one of 
continual expansion and movement westward. 'Flic earliest 
forms of cultured life appeared in Egypt and Babylonia. 
From these countries it spread through Asia Minor. The 
Cretans in the eastern Mediterranean were influenced by the 
learning of Egypl and Babylon. Through them the older- 
civilization affected the Hellenes, who added wonderfully to 
the richness of civilized life by developing, in their free city- 
states, ideas of democracy which the world had not known 
before that time. 

As a result of the commercial expansion of the Greeks in 
the years from 800 to 500 b. c. all the coast-line of the 
western Mediterranean was brought into touch with the 
broadened life of the Greeks. After Greece had readied 
the height of her glory, in the fifth century B. C, the penin- 
sula of Italy began to awaken slowly to an appreciation of 
all that Greek civilization meant. Adding ideas of their 
own, the Italians carried this civilization, under the stand- 
ards of the Roman army, further westward into Gaul, 
Spain, and Britain. In the centuries after the birth of 
Christ, Germany, too, grew slowly away from its rude forest 
life. In the fifth and sixth centuries of our era, German 
tribes moved into Gaul, Spain, and Italy. They accepted 
the customs and ideas which they found there, changing 
them as their native temperament demanded. After Colum- 

245 



246 THE STORY OF ROME 

bus discovered America, colonists from Europe moved to this 
country. They brought with them the civilization of 
Europe, which it had taken 5,000 years to develop. In a 
new climate, and upon new soil, this European life became 
our American civilization of to-day. Over the continent it 
moved westward, until now there is no part of our wide 

Country which has not been reached and flooded by the cur- 
rents flowing out of Europe's past. 

311. The Races of Western Europe. — When the Hellenes 
planted their colonics to the very Western end of the Med- 
iterranean, they found the countries there inhabited by 
people far behind them in development. Only on the 
northern coast of Africa were there cities; and these had 
been started by Phoenician merchants, who were uncon- 
sciously helping the work of progress by carrying westward 
the old Babylonian-Egyptian culture. 

Italy and Sicily were inhabited, for the greater part, by 
related tribes which we may call Italians. In Gaul and in 
Britain lived the many tribes of the Celts; in Spain, the 
Iberians, who were later conquered by an invasion of Celtic 
tribes from Caul; in Germany, the Germans, large-limbed, 
blue-eyed, and tlaxen-haired. These are the principal peoples 
whom we shall have to study in tracing the spread of the 
Oriental-Greek culture in ancient, times. The languages 
of all these peoples belong to the great [ndo-European group, 

in which many simple words have the same origin, though 
the languages themselves have grown to be quite unlike in 
sound, -lust as in the case 1 of the Hellenes, historians are 
not agreed as to how early or from what locality these peoples 
of the EndorEuropean race came into western Europe. It is 
certain, however, that an older race inhabited Italy before 
the Italian tribes entered the country. 

312. The Etruscans. — There was one people living in the 
Po Valley, and on the western coast as far south as the 
Tiber River, and further south in the Campanian plain, 
which differed so much from the remaining tribes in appear- 
ance, speech, and habits, that they were surely in no way 
kin to them. These were the Etruscans, the greatest riddle 



ITALY: ITS PEOPLE AND EARLY HISTORY 247 




Etruscan Gbave Mo i 



amonji; the ancient peoples. From the figures carved upon 

their tombs the modern historian has learned jusl how they 

looked. He has numerous remains of their language; but 

no one has as yel found the 

key which will unlock its 

secrets and enable men to 

read it. Some scholars have 

at tempted to prove that the 

Etruscans wandered into 

Italy from Asia, others thai 

they were the remnanl of I he 

oldest people who lived in 

Italy. It is hard to say 

whether the mystery of their 

origin will ever be solved. It 

will not occur, al least, until their language can be deciphered. 

In their civilization they were advanced to a stage far 

beyond that which the Italian tribes had reached. 

313. The Geographical Position of Italy.- The superior 
location of the peninsula of Italy in the Mediterranean Sea 

is apparent from a glance al the 
map. Its central position, mid- 
way between the western penin- 
sula of Spain and the eastern 
one of Greece, has given it a great 
commercial and military advan- 
tage over the other countries. It 
is in close touch with Africa by 
way of the large island of Sicily. 
It is clear that when the western 
Mediterranean should once develop the over-sea trade which 
accompanies advancing civilization, Italy must, from her nat- 
ural location, be directly in the center of this maritime life, 
whether the trade go east and west, or north and south. The 
Italian cities would therefore take away much of the western 
trade which had formerly been monopolized by the Phoenicians 
and Greeks. If the one great empire, of which Alexander 
dreamed, were to be wrought out of all the Mediterranean 
17 




Ancieni Etei »( ■•. •• I B • I . THE 

I OBM 01 I BOI BE. 



248 THE STORY OF ROME 

lands, no situation could be compared with that of Italy 
for the seat of its central power; for its armies and fleets could 
strike with equal swiftness at Africa, Spain, Gaul, or Greece. 

314. Size and Climate of Italy. — The Italian peninsula 
has about twice the area of the state of New York. It is 
about 700 miles long, with an average width of 100 miles in 
central and southern Italy. In the great plain of the Po 
River, just south of the Alps, the breadth is about 350 miles. 

The climate varies greatly in different places. This vari- 
ation is due to the long stretch from north to south, and to 
the Apennine range, which runs the entire length of Italy. 
The soil in the valleys is fertile; wine-grapes, olive-trees, 
grain, and fruits of every kind grow there in abundance. 
In the lower plains and on the sides of the mountains, large 
and small cattle could be grazed in ancient times with profit- 
able returns. Agriculture was the basis of early Italian life. 

The Alps protect Italy from the cold winds of northern 
Europe. They serve to mark it off physically and in 
climate from the rest of Europe; but they are cut by nu- 
merous passes and do not form an insurmountable barrier 
either against trade with the north, or against the march 
of armies from or to the north. 

The Apennines do not cut Italy into isolated districts, 
as Greece was divided, for there are no spurs running from 
east to west. In consequence there was a much greater 
possibility of a political union in the Italian peninsula than 
in Greece. The peninsula itself is a geographical unit, its 
unity depending upon land routes rather than upon ships 
and the sea. 

315. The Italian Tribes. — At the time of the Greek coni- 
zation along the shores of southern Italy, when first we get 
an insight into the life of the peninsula, there were three 
distinct races inhabiting it, the Etruscans, the Greeks of 
southern Italy, and the Italian tribes. Among the many 
Italian tribes, the Latins, dwelling about the Tiber River, 
proved themselves the most important in the ancient history 
of Italy. We shall see how they gradually drew into their 
own organization the Umbrians who inhabited the central 




Early Italy and its Important Peoples. 



ITALY: ITS PEOPLE AND EARLY HISTORY 249 

part of the peninsula, and the tribes of the southern-central 
and southern parts, of whom the Samnites, inhabiting the 
mountainous regions of central Italy, formed the strongest 
element. 

316. Why the Latins Became Leaders in Italy. The 
Latin tribes lived in close contact with the highly developed 
life of the Etruscans to the north, while to the south, along 
the western coast of Italy, wen; the Greek colonies and their 
civilized city life. The territory inhabited by the Latin 
tribes extended along the south bank of the Tiber River 
from the mountains to the sea. The fad that the Tiber 
was navigable for miles caused them to turn early to sea- 
faring and trade, through which they gained the advantages 
of higher civilization more quickly than the other Italian 
tribes. Because Latium is a single plain the union of its 
cities was much more natural and easy to accomplish than 
it would have been in a more mountainous and broken 
region. 

The situation of the Latins was one of great danger. 
They were forced to defend themselves from the warlike 
Etruscans lying to the north. The wilder Sabine tribes 
of the mountains made foraging raids into the plain of 
Latium. To protect themselves from these dangerous 
neighbors, the Latins formed a league of thirty cities. Home, 
one of the Latin cities, situated on the Tiber River about 
fifteen miles from the sea, soon became the leader of this 
federation. It is because of the extreme importance which 
Home took in the ancient world, that we speak of the his- 
tory of Italy, and later, of nil Hie Mediterranean lands, 
under the one heading "the history of Home." 

The power which the Latin tribes attained under Rome-S 
headship is due, then, to four causes: (1) to the excellent 
position of Latium in the center of Italy; (2) to the advan- 
tage of early and close connection with the Etruscans and 
Greeks; (3) to the necessity of forming a union, early in their 
career, to repel the attacks of their neighbors; and (4) to 
the tendency toward union in the Latin plain, due to its 
physical form. 



250 THE stoky OF ROME 

317. How the Story of Rome's Early History Arose. In 
the fourth and third centuries B.C., the city of Rome de- 
veloped from the position of leader of a group of Latin cities 
to l>< v tin' capita] city and ruler of all [taly. In the follow- 
ing century tin* influence of tin* city widened, until all the 
nations which bordered upon the Mediterranean Sea became 
subject to her command. Then the pride of the Romans 
urged them to Learn of the beginnings of their greatness. 
The historical models which they had to follow were the 
stories of the Greek historians, who were accustomed to 
work oul the question of tin* origin o{ cities and tin* family 
trees of aristocratic families. Because of the political 
importance and high civilization of the Hellenic cities tin* 
Roman historians tried in every way to conned Rome's 
early days with tin* glorious past <^ Greece, They look up 
the traditional and fantastic stories told by the early Greek 
writers and worked them over into m series of connected 
tales. These were accepted as inn* by the Romans them- 
selves and by all subsequenl historians until aboul L800 \. d. 

318. The Tradition of the Founding of Rome. According 
to this traditional accounl , ^Eneas, the son <^ Venus, goddess 
of love (the Greek Aphrodite), fled from Troy when it was 
captured by the A-chseans. He broughl with him his family 
and the gods o^i his household. Aiter many adventures he 
(■Mine to Latium and married the daughter o^ Latinus, the 
king o^ the Latins. The descendants o^i <Eneas founded the 
Roman race, ruling as kings in a small town in Latium. 
Aiter many years a priestess named Rhea Silvia, a daughter 
of the royal line, became mother o^i twins, Romulus and 
Remus, whose father was the war-god, Mars. From 
Romulus sprang the Roman people. This family tree, with 
its descent from the goddess Venus and the god Mars, was 
surely enough to satisfy Roman pride. 

The uncle o\' Rhea Silvia, a wicked man named Amulius, 
set the two children adrift on the Tiber River, bul they 
were carried ashore by the current at the place where Home 
was later built. As they wailed for food, a mother-wolf 
found them and nourished them, Here the twins grew 



ITALY: its PEOPLE AND EARLY EISTORY 25] 




up, stnni*!; as young gods. When they grew to manhood 
they gathered a band of rough and ready followers and de- 
cided to found a city on the liills where the Tiber had thrown 
them out on its banks. Remus and a part of the band 
wished to choose the Aven- 



tine hill, Romulus and his 
followers the Palatine hill. 
They agreed to leave the 
matter to the decision of the 

gods. So they awaited a 
sign in i he heavens. Remus 
saw six vultures flying from 
the east, which was to him 
the sign that the k (,( 1> s ap- 
proved of his choice. But 
immediately Romulus saw 

twelve, which meant thai 
he was the victor in the 

propnetlC Signs. Portion of the Hadrianic Altab Showing 

When Romulus had Romulus and Remus Nourished 

iiv mi. Wolf. 
plowed a trench around 

the Palatine hill to mark off the walls of his citadel, Remus 

mocked him and leaped over the ditch to show his scorn. 
In his anger Romulus struck him down, crying, " May 
this end come to anyone who shall attempt, to cross my 
walls!" 

319. The Time when Rome was Founded. The story 
of Rome's origin is purely a legend, yet it expresses the 
rough and warlike character of the old Romans, and is 
what all the later Romans believed. Their historians 
have worked out the very year in which the founding of the 
city took place. The dates they gave differed, ranging 
from 754 to 747 B.C. The year 753 B.C. was the one 
most generally accepted by the Romans themselves, hut 
excavations made within the past ten years in the city of 
Rome prove that the site was occupied as far back as L000 
b.c., or earlier. Although the date 753 b. c. is manifestly 
incorrect, one must keep it, in mind, because in later times 



252 THE STORY OF ROME 

the Romans reckoned time from that year, as we reckon the 
year from the birth of Christ. 

320. Our Sources for Early Roman History. — The liter- 
ary sources, which the historian must depend upon for his 
information about Roman history down to about 300 b. c, 
are very unsatisfactory, and must be accepted with great 
caution. The following list shows how long after the events 
these ancient historians wrote. It is interesting to note 
that the first group is composed of Greek authors. 

Greek Writers 

1. Diodorus of Sicily, in his Historical Library. He lived just 

before the birth of Christ. 

2. Dionysius of Halicarnassus, in his Roman Antiquities. He 

died at Rome in 7 b. c. 

3. Plutarch, in his Parallel Lives. He was a Boeotian Greek 

living about 100 a. d. 

Latin Writers 

1. Marcus Terentius Varro, in his Antiquities. He died in 

28 b. c. 

2. Marcus Tullius Cicero, the great Roman orator of the first 

century b. c., in his book on The Roman Republic. 

3. Titus Livius (Livy), in his Roman History. Livy died in 

14 A. D. 

In the year 382 b. c, the city of Rome was captured by 
the savage Celts from Gaul, and burned to the ground. 
All the records of the city's history were destroyed, including 
the annals or accounts of each year's events kept by the 
priests. The sources, therefore, which could be used by 
Cicero, Livy, and the Greek historians on the period before 
this Gallic invasion were not very trustworthy. 

The best information which we have at our command 
is that gained by means of the excavator's spade. Since 
1898 careful excavations in Rome have bared its oldest 
temples and burying-grounds. They give us some idea of 
the original size and the growth of the ancient city, and tell 
us something of the religion and character of its inhabitants. 



ITALY: ITS PEOPLE AND EARLY HISTORY 253 

But there are no important political documents inscribed 
on stone which give us the text of treaties, definite facts and 
dates, or the names of the great statesmen of early Rome. 
321. The Tradition of the Seven Kings. — The literary 
account tells us definitely of the acts of Romulus and the 
six kings of Rome who followed him. It relates how the 
fifth of the series, Tarquin the First, overcame the Sabines 
and Latins, and bettered the condition of the city by building 




Mouth of the Cloaca Maxima as it Appears To-day. 

It was Formerly Attributed to King Tarquin the First, but was probably Built much 
Later than the Period of the Kings. 

the great sewer, the Cloaca Maxima, which drained the city 
in early times. 

Servius Tullius, so the tradition says, succeeded Tarquin. 
In his reign a new and larger wall was built around Rome, 
including in its circle all the seven hills upon which the 
later city rested. He divided the citizens into classes based 
upon their wealth, and gave them privileges and duties 
accordingly. 

The last king, Tarquin the Proud, oppressed the people. 
He forced them to work upon public buildings, and was 
proud and tyrannical. So runs the account in Livy. 

322. The Driving Out of the Kings.— Because of the 



254 THE STORY OF ROME 

oppressive conduct of the kings, especially in respect to 
their exactions from the nobles, the Romans expelled them 
and decided that they would nevermore be ruled by a king. 

They gave the powers which the king had held to two 
men called " consuls" who were elected out of the number 
o\ Roman citizens for a term oi one year. This story of the 
expulsion of the kings is historically true. According to the 
old tradition, the date at which this change from the mon- 
archic to a republican government was made, is 509 B. C. 
The event must have occurred at about this time, though 
the exact year is uncertain. 

References for Outside Reading 

Botsford, The Story of Rome (sourer material), ch. 2; Munro, Source 
Book of Roman History, pp. L-5, tH>-70; Plutarch, Romulus, Numa; 
Abbott, Short History of Rome, pp. 17-24, 31-37 : Pelham, Outlines of 
Roman History, Book I, ch. 1. 3; Seignobos, Ancient Virilization, ch. 17; 
How and Leigh, History of Rome, ch. 1-3; Shuckburgh, History of 
Rome, ch. 2-5; Alice Zimmern, Old Tales from Rome. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Stealing of the Sabine Women. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 

34-36; Plutarch, Life of Romulus. 

2. The Story of Tarpeia. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 30-38; 

Plutarch, Life of Romulus; Classical Dictionaries under "Tar- 
peia." 

3. The Legend of the Horatii. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 

45-49. 

4. What the Ancient Writers Thought about the Accuracy 

of their Early History. — Munro, Source Book of Roman 
History, pp. 4-5. 

5. Art and Architecture of the Etruscans. — Marquand and 

Prothingham, History of Sculpture, ch. 12; Lubke, History of 
Art, vol, I, book 2, ch. 2. 



CHAPTER XXIV 
THE OLD ROMAN STATE 

323. Survey of Conditions in the Sixth Century B. C. — 
In the sixth century B.C., Persia, as we have seen in the 
stories of Cyrus and Darin.-, developed into the great empire 
of the East. Her territory stretched from India to the 
Mediterranean Sea, and finally included the Greek cities on 
the coasl of Asia Minor. The Hellenes had already pro- 
gressed far along t\ic road of culture. Athens and other 
city-states had thrown aside their kings and were fast de- 
veloping democratic forms of government. In literature and 
art they were beginning to show those distinguished talents 
which blazed forth so gloriously in the Periclean Age a cen- 
tury later. 

The Greek colonies in Italy and Sicily were wealthy, and 
strong in war. Their two powerful rivals were the Phoeni- 
cian city of Carthago, in northern Africa, and the Etruscans 
in central Italy. The Etruscan merchants, when the oppor- 
tunity offered, combined piracy with their regular business 
and fought against the advance of the Greek trade with 
western people. 

324. The Old City of Rome. — In this century the Italian 
tribes were just at the beginning of their career among 
the civilized peoples. Upon the hills and in the swampy 
lowlands, where the city of Rome was to play her great role 
in the world's history, stood a number of separate settlements, 
each centering about a walled hill. In the sixth century 
these combined into a single city surrounded by a wall of 
simple construction. On the hilltops were the houses of the 
noble landowners; in the low lands between were the gar- 
dens, houses, and plowed fields of the small farmers, and 
the communities of traders and retail dealers. 

We must think of the life of the Romans of this old city 

255 



256 



THE STORY OF ROME 




Ancient Urn Made iv the Form 
of an Italian House. 



os very simple indeed. Some of the ancient Italian and 
Etruscan pottery was made in tin 4 form of small imitations 
of their houses. These show that most of the houses were 

little one-storied huts built of 
wood. The peaked roof contained 
an opening through which the 
smoke escaped from the hearth 
below. 

325. The Old Roman Religion: 
Family Gods. — What we know of 
the religion of the Italians, espe- 
cially the Romans, suggests their 
simple lives as farmers and herders. 
Their religion, in its early form, 
was distinctly the outcome of their 
activities and interest. It shows 
the practical character of a race 
which earned its bread by hard work in the gardens and 
fields. 

Above all, the house and the fireside were sacred. The 
Latin word for house-door was janua, and the Romans 
worshipped the house in the form of the god Janus. At 
a later time the god was depicted as double-faced, looking 
both backward and forward, for a gate or door allows one 
to pass either in or out. The hearth and its fire were wor- 
shipped as the goddess Vesta. The common fire of the 
state was kept continually burning by the Virgins of Vesta 
in an old round temple dedicated to her. These and other 
household gods tell us of the immense importance of the 
family organization among the early Romans. 

326. Farm Gods. — Next in importance came the gods 
who protected the fields and farms. Saturn, the god of the 
sowing, helped the farmer when he planted the seed. The 
goddess Ceres watched over the growing grain. Flora was 
protectress of all plants and flowers. Pomona was the 
goddess of the fruit-trees. Terminus was the god of boun- 
daries, those of the fields and those of the state. Tellus 
(Earth) was the goddess who lived in the soil of the fields. 




DDffi 



THE OLD ROMAN STATE 



257 




Rom ^n Mi so m i ion 

Show tNG nu I'okm 
OF nu A.NCIBNT 

Tempi k of 
Vesta. 



Venus was the goddess who gave or withheld fruitfulness 

in plants and animals. The nature of those old gods shows 
that the old Roman community was made up of farming 
people. 

None o( these divinities, excepting Vesta, had temples 
built for them, and none o{ them had images. The aneient 
Romans did not think o^i them as persons, hut as misty 
powers, living, s^> t ho Romans thought, 
in the things that wen 1 sacred to them, 
and worshipped at altars built under the 
open sky. Tellus was present in every 
field. Terminus lived in every boundary 
stone. Vesta had a temple, however, be- 
cause her eternal tire would have gone 
out if left in the open air. 

327. Nature Gods and the Forms of 
Worship. — Among all the Italian tribes, 
including the Romans, Jupiter (Father 

Jove) stood at the head of the tribal gods. Theletters read: "Veata 
i .1 t 4 C ik 4. -u % ir S[enatua] C[onsulto]." 

and was the protector ot the tribe itself. 

He it was who sent the rain and sunshine. His anger blazed 

in the thunderstorm and, by observing the Lightning-flash, 

the tribe could Learn his will. As Rome developed he be- 
came the city's greatest god, as Athena had become the 
protecting goddess of Athens. The worship of Jupiter Opti- 
mum Maximus 0^ xs t and Greatest) upon t ho Capitoline Hill 

became the center of the Roman religious system. 

Mars was the god of the Roman farmers as they worked 
in the fields and fought in summer in their campaigns with 
neighboring tribes. The spring month, March, was sacred 
to him and took its name from him. His aspect as the god 
o( war — for the campaigning season began in the spring — 
soon overshadowed his worship as a god ot* the farm. 

Lacking the imagination and artistic feeling of the Hel- 
lenes, the Italians were unable to give their gods any distinct 
human form. The Italian worship was characteristic of the 
people, carried out in accordance with a system of rules, 
with flxed, set songs and prayers for addressing the gods. 



258 



THE STORY OF ROME 



The priests of these gods were state officials, and the re- 
ligion became a more integral part of the state than was 
ever the case in Greece. 

The whole religious system of the Italians was at first 
influenced by the Etruscans. From them the Italians 
learned to interpret the will of the gods, by watching the 
flight of birds, by looking at the movements of the entrails 
of animals and fowls which had just been killed, or by the 
lightning-flash. The Romans were a practical people. 
They thought that if they carried out their sacrifices exactly 



*^$ 



fa.- -■ ■■ **- 




Restoration of the Capitolixe Hill in Ancient Times. 
The temple upon the right is that of Jupiter; the one upon the left that of Juno. 

as the rules demanded, the gods must grant them what they 
wished. If things turned out badly, they ascribed this to 
some mistake in the prayer or offering. They were hard- 
headed and businesslike, even with the gods. If they 
could get the better of the divinities themselves at a bargain, 
they thought it right to do so. 

328. Earliest Form of the Roman State. — When Rome 
was ruled by kings, the entire citizen body was made up of 
three tribes. This was really a military organization, with a 
"tribune," or tribal commander, at the head of each division 
of the fighting citizens. The king was the commander-in- 
chief of the entire army of the state. Each tribe was divided 
into ten brotherhoods, called "curiae." The members of 
these curia? were supposed to be bound together by blood- 



THE OLD ROMAN STATE 259 

tics, like the members of the old Greek phratries. They 
fought together in battle. At certain times of the year they 
met together for a feasl and sacrifice in common. In the 
"Assembly by Curia?" (Comitia Curiata) they voted on 
importanl questions, such as the declaration of war, matters 
of wills, and the adoption of children. 

Late in the sixth century b. c, the tribal formation of the 
army by curiae was replaced by a new arrangement. This 
reorganization was ascribed by the ancient historians to the 
legendary king Servius Tullius, and is therefore called the 
"Servian Reform." It marks the transition of the state, 
under Etruscan influence, from its simple tribal organiza- 
tion to the form of a city-state. The men in the various 
curiae were supposed to be related by blood. The new sys- 
tem disregarded all blood and tribal ties. Under this new 
organization the citizens were divided into 193 centuries, or 
groups of a hundred, according to the kind of armor they 
were able to furnish. Those who could furnish a horse and 
the heavier armor, were, of course, the wealthier citizens. 
So the division was one based upon wealth, the whole citizen 
body being divided into five classes on this basis. 

Soon a number of the political rights held by the Curial 
Assembly were taken over by this new Assembly of the 
army by Centuries, called the Centuriate Assembly. Natu- 
rally the right to vote on peace and war was one of the 
first of these. Thus there were two political assemblies of 
the old Roman people, but the Centuriate rapidly became 
more important than the Curial Assembly. It had, how- 
ever, one serious defect in its organization. The voting was 
done by centuries, the majority in each century deciding 
the vote of the century, the votes of 97 centuries deciding 
the question at issue. Moreover, 98 centuries were made up 
entirely from the two upper classes in the state, and these 
voted first on any matter proposed. Consequently, these 
two wealthier classes could decide any question if they all 
voted in the same way. Therefore, the nobles had very 
much the advantage of the lower classes in the Centuriate 
Assembly. 



260 THE STORY OF ROME 

329. Social Classes at Rome. — The inhabitants of the 
city-state of Rome fall into throe social classes, t he patricians, 
plebeians, and clients which were distinct from the division 
into the five classes in the Centuriate Assembly. A patri- 
cian was the son of a noble father, of a noble clan [gens), 
and only men of this class were eligible to the Senate of 
"fathers" (patres) who gave advice to the king. The ple- 
beians must have belonged to the assemblies and have had 
the right to vote there. They were free, but without the 
right to hold offices in the state service or sit in the Senate. 
They were the small farmers, while the patricians were usu- 
ally the owners of larger estates, the land-owning aris- 
tocracy. The clients were dependents of the patricians. 
They could not appear alone in court to defend themselves, 
but must call upon their patrician "patrons" to represent 
them. They were not members of the Curial and Centuriate 
Assemblies. Hence they were not free and independent 
as the plebeians were. For the most part they lived outside 
the city on small plots of ground which they received from 
their patrons. For the use of these fields they paid a per- 
centage of their crops and herds to their patrons. 

330. Distinction between Rich and Poor— The distinc- 
tion between rich and poor became very marked at Rome 
even in the early centuries of the city's development. The 
Roman state had common lands, which were let out to the 
citizens for a small rental as pasture land. Whatever lands 
the state added by conquest were used in a similar way. 
But the wealthier patricians, who had control of the offices 
and courts, took too great advantage 1 of their privileges. 
They seized more than their share of the common lands, 
and avoided tin 1 payments from them which were due to the 
state. Thereby they became wealthier, while the plebeians, 
as a body, became poorer. 

In time, the political terms patrician and plebeian came to 
correspond to the idea of the Aristocracy of the large 1 estates 
(patricians) and the Small Landholder or the Landless (ple- 
beians). Of course all the plebeians did not remain poor. 
On the whole, however, the political interests of the patricians 



THE OLD ROMAN STATE 261 

and the rich came to coincide against those of the plebeians 
and the poor. The plebeians then began to fight against the 
accumulation of state lands in the hands of the rich nobility, 
and the land question became a very important factor in 
Roman polities. 

331. The Roman Family. — The number and importance 
of the Roman household god- -how that the Romans be- 
lieved strongly in the idea of the family. This was a close 
and well-regulated body, including the father of the family 
with all his male children, married or unmarried, his wife, 
unmarried daughters, his daughters-in-law, his servants, and 
family slaves. Over these the head of the household, the 
pater farnilias, had absolute power, even to the point of 
placing them on trial before the family council, and con- 
demning them to death after advising with this council. 1 

Out of this family organization grew a wider organization, 
including all the relatives who were or had been connected 
with one family. This was the clan or gens. Thus the 
Romans of the better families bore three names, the given 
name, the clan name, and a final name to distinguish the 
particular family of a clan. For example, Gaius Sempronius 
Gracchus was of the Gracchan branch of the Sempronian 
gens. Caius Julius Caesar was of the Julian gens, but of the 
Caesar family. 

The relation of the Roman father to his sons, the dis- 
cipline which the Roman state enforced among its citizens, 
and the sternness of the old Roman character, are well shown 
in the story told of Aulus Postumius, a consul, leader of the 
Roman army in a war with the iEquians. During the battle 
the consul gave orders that no one was to leave the battle 
line. An iEquian warrior rode out in front of the army 
and insolently challenged the Romans to come out and 
fight him in single combat. The son of Postumius could 
not restrain his ardor at this sight, He disobeyed the con- 

^he members of the family group were protected by religious and 
state law, as well as by custom, from abuse of this power on the part 
of the pater farnilias. He could not, for example, sell his wife or a 
married son into slavery. 



262 THE STORY OF ROME 

sul's commands and killed his opponent. When he re- 
turned as victor to the Roman lines, his father, Postumius, 
had him put to death as one who had broken the commands 
of the consul and the discipline of the Roman army. 

References for Outside Reading 

Munro, Source Book, pp. 41-47; Seignobos, Ancient denization, 
pp. 208-223; Abbott, Short History of Rome, pp. 24-30. 37-43; How 
and Leigh, History of Rome, pp. 37-47; Pelham, Outlines of Roman 
History, Book I, ch. 2; Shuekburgh, History of Rome, pp. 43-50; 
Fairbanks, Mythology of Greece and Rome, eh. 9. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Roman Priesthood and the Devotion to Religious 

Forms. — Write a brief paper on this topic, based upon the 
sources in Munro's Source Book, pp. 6-15. 

2. Legend of Horatius at the Bridge. — Botsford, Story of Rome, 

pp. 60-03; Macaulay, Lays of Ancient Rome. 

3. Legend of King Xima as Organizer of the Roman Re- 

ligion. — Plutarch, Life of Xuma; Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 
39-44. 

4. Character and Work of Servius Tullius according to 

the Traditional Story. — Livy, Book I, ch. 40-49: Botsford, 
Story of Rome, pp. 55-57. 

5. Powers of the King in the Early Roman State. — Momm- 

sen, History of Rome, in vol. I, book 1, ch. 5. 

6. Powers of the Senate Under the Roman Kings. — Momm- 

sen, History of Rome, in vol. I, book 1, ch. 5. 



CHAPTER XXV 
THE SPREAD OF nil: POWER OF ROME OVER tTAl V 

332. The Early Republic: the Consuls and the Dictator. 
When the old kingship was overthrown, the power which 
the kings had wielded was merely transferred to the hands 
of two magistrates, called consuls, chosen for a year's term 
out of the patrician class. Their duties were numerous and 
varied, tn time of war they led the citizen militia oi the 
state. They called the meetings of the Senate and Assem- 
blies and presided over these as chairmen. They saw that 
the laws oi the state, passed In the Senate and Assemblies, 
were carried out, and. as chief judges of the state, they 
presided over the courts in which those who broke these 

laws were punished. 

When the condition oi the state became very serious, 
because oi some danger in war, or some internal trouble, 
this regal power held by the consuls could be concentrated 

in the hands oi one man, called the dictator, who for six 
months held absolute power in all departments oi the 
state. Thus at times oi the greatest trouble t he state could 
gain that concentration oi leadership which was impossible 

under the double consulship. 

J list as in the early history oi Athens, the laws oi the 
Roman republic were very severe regulating debts. Many 

of the small fanners were forced to mortgage themselves, 
their wives, and children, to the wealthy patricians. If 
the debts were not paid, they might even be given over to 
their creditors, and sold by these as slaves, 

333. Establishing of the Tribunate. Since the consuls 
were of the patrician class, the plebeians found that they 
did not receive justice when tried before them. In the 
troubles which arose over this matter the patricians showed 
that willingness to compromise which saved the Roman 

263 



2G-1 



THE STORY OF ROME 



state from revolution at many an important crisis in the 
iirsl centuries of its life. Soon after the republic was estab- 
lished llu 1 plebeians were granted the right to elect officials 
of (heir own called "tribunes." 1 The duties of the tribunes 
were to protect the plebeians againsl unjust decrees of the 
consuls. The original number of the tribunes, probably 
two or four, was soon increased to ten. 

The persons of the tribunes were declared sacred, and they 
were protected from harm by all the power of the Roman 
religion. Their influence slowly grew. It was probably late 
in the fifth century when they attained l lu 1 righl to sit out- 
side the door of the Roman Senate house and shout "veto" 
(I forbid) when the Senate tried to pass a law contrary to 

the welfare o)i the plebeians. No law could 

pass over the veto of any one of the tribunes. 
334. Organization of the Tribal Assembly. 
— The tribunes were chosen by the plebs in 
the meetings of an old religious body, loosely 
organized, and based upon the tribal divisions 
in the state. Under the leadership of the 
tribunes this organization gradually assumed 
a more definite form and greater powers; 
and thus a new political body was added to 
the two already existing in the state. This 

body was called the Tribal Assembly. 

The method employed by the plebeians in 
gaining concessions from the patricians and the Senate was a 
peculiar one. The fighting strength of the Roman army lay 
in the plebeian private soldier, and the plebeians were well 
aware of this fact. Several times when the state needed 
them to conduct its wars, they refused to fight until their 
demands were granted. This military strike, as it may be 
called, was in every case successful. 

335. The Hortensian Laws, 287 B. C. — The resolutions 
Of the Tribal Assembly came to be regarded as more and 
more important. At last it was thoughl wise to allow the 

l The traditional accounl Bays that tribunes were first elected in 
494-493 b. <-., hut this date is quite uncertain. 




A Rom >\ Wa rriob. 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 265 

tribunes to present these opinions of the plebeian assembly 
to the Senate, and to regard them as laws if the Senate, also, 

should pass them. The trouble with this system is appar- 
ent. The capitalist- of Rome, entrenched in the Senate, 
would only pass those resolutions which did not affect their 
own privileges. So the si ruggle of 1 he pal ricians i'or equality 
in the privilege of law-making went on with increasing bit- 
terness until, in the year 287 B.C., it bade fair to split the 
state. The Romans had a most important war on hand, 
the one with the Greek city of Tarentum, which was to 
decide the question of the mastery of lower Italy. Seizing 
this opportunity, the middle and lower classes of the ple- 
beians moved out of Rome to the Janiculine Hill across the 
Tiber, and asserted that they would build there a new Home. 

In the face of this danger, a dictator, Quintus Hortensius, 
was appointed. Under his guidance the Hortensian laws 
were passed, which made the resolutions introduced by the 
tribunes before the Tribal Assembly, and accepted by it, 
the law of the land. The Senate's sanction was no longer 
required to make these laws valid. 

336. Importance of the Tribunate and Tribal Assembly.— 
It was a curious method which was followed by the unknown 
Roman statesmen of the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., to 
correct the abuses and misunderstandings between the two 
great social classes. Instead of passing laws which would 
cover the points over which they differed, they created 
officers, the tribunes, whose power was at first purely one 
of veto. They were there to stop abuses; but this right 
extended only to individual cases. Soon they gained the 
privilege, which has already been mentioned, of blocking 
all legislation in the state by the veto of any one of them. 

When the Tribal Assembly, by the Hortensian Law, 
gained the right to pass laws, a double system of legislation 
was created within the state. The common people had 
me power, if they so chose, to manage the state and make 
their officers, the tribunes, its absolute masters. It would 
3eem that such a system, with its two branehe- of law- 
making, in the Centuriate Assembly and the Tribal Assem- 



266 THE sroKV OF ROME 

bly, could not possibly exist for long, It speaks volumes 
for the law-abiding sense of the Roman people, patri- 
cians and plebeians alike, that the inevitable crash was 
delayed for four centuries, until the days of Julius Csesar. 
\\ e shall study later how the old aristocratic rule of the 
patrician families finally was broken down through the 
agency oi the tribunes and the Tribal Assembly. 

337. Laws of the Twelve Tables. About 450 B. c, the 
common people of the Roman state obtained a privilege 
which had been gained in most oi the Greek states about 
600 B.C. This was the just demand that the customary 
law oi the land, which guided the consuls in their decisions, 
should be published. Before that time the plebeians did 
not know what their rights were, and consequently had 
little chance oi obtaining justice in the courts. 

The formulating of the laws was given over to a board 
of ten commissioners, the Decemvir ate, which published the 
larger part of the laws upon ten bronze tablets set up before 
the Senate house. It is said that they seut men over to 
Greece to study the Greek legal codes, especially that of 
Solon at Athens, This is the first instance of a direct 
influence of Greek civilization at Home. 

A.S the work of the Decemvirate was not completed in 
the first year, another commission of ten men was appointed 
which added two more tablets. These Laws oi the Twelve 
Tables {tabidce) became the foundation of all the later pri- 
vate law of the Roman people. They did not deal at all 
with the political rights of the Roman plebs, but judges 
were bound, thereafter, to gjve their decisions, in private 
suits, according to the dictates of these published laws. 

338. The Plebeians Struggle for the Political Offices- 
Tn the years from 150 to 300 B. C, the Roman state and the 
city itself grew rapidly. Soon the consuls were no longer 
able to carry on the manifold work of administration in the 
state. Therefore certain duties which the consuls had had 
were taken from them and given over to new magistrates. 
To the censors was given the task of undertaking a new 
census and classification of the Roman citizens every five 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 267 

years. The praetors took over a part of the work in judging 
cases in court which the consuls had previously done. The 
quaestors look charge of the state finances. The aediles 
supervised the public places of the city, and looked after 
the condition of the streets. These were all branches of 
the original duties of the con nils. 

It was natural that the plebeians should wish to obtain 
the right to hold these offices. Did they uot fight for the 
state when it was attacked, or when it sought to add new 
territory to its dominion? The patrician aristocracy, just 
as oaturally, felt that their high birth gave them the right 
to guide the state, and they could not easily give in to the 
plebeian demands. By taking advantage of the fad that 
they were needed in time of war, the plebeians forced the 
patrician aristocracy to grant them one office after another. 
First came the quaestorship; then, after a bitter struggle, 
the consulship. 

339. The Licinian-Sextian Laws, 367 B.C. — If we follow the 
doubtful account of the ancienl historians we musl believe 
that a law was passed in the year 367 B.C., al the instance 
of the tribunes Licinius^and Sextius, which contained among 
others the following clan 

1. One of the two consuls in each year is to be plebeian. 1 

2. The interest already paid upon all debts is to be sub- 
tracted from the principal. The remaining principal is to be 
paid within three years. 

3. No one shall occupy more than 500 jugera (about 330 
acres) of the public Land. 

This much of the ancient account seems to be historical. 
It shows that the patricians were holding more than their 
share of the public domain. It speaks of the general distress 
due to the indebtedness of the poorer classes to the rich. 

'It is not until the year 320 b.c. that we have a plebeian consul 
regularly appearing beside the patrician. It may therefore have been 
a mistake for the ancienl writers to have placed the victory of the ple- 
beians, by which they gained admission to the consulship, so early as 
367 b.c. 



268 THE STORY OF ROME 

It shows how the plebeian fight for recognition in the offices 
of the state was coupled with a struggle to better their 
chance to make a living. 

From 307 to 287 b. c, is the period during which the 
plebeians gained rapidly in the fight for political equality 
with the patricians. In rapid succession, they were made 
eligible to one of the two positions as censor, to the praetor- 
ship, to the office of sedile, and even to the lofty office of 
dictator. The Hortensian Law of 287 b. c. may be regarded 
as the date at which their victory was complete, in so far as 
equality in Roman politics was concerned. 

340. The Organization of the Latin League. — While the 
Roman state was undergoing the internal changes which we 
have just outlined, it was also growing in territory, until 
the city-state of Rome came to include 4 all of Italy south of 
the Po River. In the early days of Rome's growth, the most 
important feature of her history was her connection with 
the Latin League. The histories of Livy and Dionysius 
tell us that, in 493 b. c, the consul Spurius Cassius made a 
treaty with the Latin towns, which insured peace between 
them " so long as heaven and earth shall stand." The 
Romans and the Latins took an oath to help each other in 
time of danger. Rome had the leadership in war and an 
influence in the League equal to that of all the Latin towns 
combined. The Latin towns retained their independence, 
and their lawsuits were tried in their own courts. 

In the first fifty years of its existence, the League had all 
it could do to hold its own against the Etruscans, the 
iEquians, and the Volscians. The Latin towns were more 
exposed to the attacks of the latter than Rome was, and 
their territory therefore suffered most. The Etruscans, 
it is true, were nearer to Rome; but their power had passed 
its zenith in the fifth century b. c. In 474 b. c, in an 
attempt to capture the Greek city of Cyme, their navy had 
been shattered by the Greek fleet under the leadership of 
Hiero, the tyrant of Syracuse. 

341. Advance of Rome against the Etruscans. — The 
successors of Hiero continued to fight the Etruscans. They 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 



269 



wished to wrest from them the trade of the western coast of 
Sicily. At the same time, the Samnites began to attack the 
southern Etruscans in Campania. Rome used the oppor- 
tunity offered by their weakness to extend her territory 
northward into Etruria itself. Toward the end of the 
fifth century b. c, the Etruscan cities north of Rome, 
Fidense and Veii, fell under Roman sway. 

Then an unforeseen event occurred which spread ruin 
through northern Italy. It broke forever what remained of 
the waning Etruscan strength, 
and threatened to crush as 
utterly the young vigor of 
Rome and the Latin League. 

342. The Gauls Come into 
Italy and Destroy Rome. — 
This event was the invasion 
of the Celtic tribes from Gaul, 
who swarmed over the Alps 
into the lovely and fertile 
valley of the Po River, in 388 
b. c. Their very appearance 
struck terror to the hearts of 
the Italians. They wore their 
blond hair long, and had great drooping mustaches; they 
were tall of stature, and charged half naked upon their 
enemies, in resistless disorder, and with wild and terrifying 
cries. They decked their horses with the heads of their 
slain enemies, or fixed the skulls outside their huts. 

In the Po Valley, they conquered the Etruscans and 
settled there as rulers of the land. They then crossed the 
Apennines into western Italy, and marched upon Rome 
itself. A few miles from the city the Roman army met with 
a terrible defeat, in the year 382 b. c. The Romans were 
forced to give up the city to destruction, with the exception 
of its citadel, the Capitolium, which they continued to hold. 
Lack of food, and news of an uprising against the Gauls in 
northern Italy, finally forced the wild invaders to leave 
Rome and return to the Po Valley. 




Gallic Horsemen. 



270 THE STORY OF ROME 

343. Legends of the Defense of Rome.- The Romanstate, 
and all central Italy, was saved. The danger which hail 
threatened loft a deep impression upon the Roman mind. 
The city lay in ashes. The huts of the peasantry in Latium, 
and the crops in the fields were burned and wasted. Many 
legends sprang up and gathered about the tale of the city's 
destruction. One of them told how the Gauls discovered, 
by chance, a path which led up the steep and rocky sides 
of the Capitolium. One dark night they clambered up 
quietly by this pathway, and would have taken the sleeping 
garrison by surprise had it not been for a flock of geese, 
sacred to the goddess Juno, which was kept there. By 
their frightened cackling they awoke the garrison in time to 
drive hack the Gauls, who were just on the point of climbing 
over the breastworks. 

The best historian among the ancient writers tells us that 
the Gauls demanded and received an immense sum of gold 
before they left Home. Livy, a Roman writer, tells an- 
other story which is probably untrue; but it reflects greater 
glory upon the Romans. When the gold was being weighed 
out, the Romans observed that the scales used by the Gauls 
were false and objected to this. But the Gallic chieftain 
threw his sword upon the scales, crying " Yn rictis /" (" Woe 
to the conquered ! "). This additional weight also had to be 
made up in gold. The legend then tells how the Roman 
leader Camillas appeared, and with the words, " The Ro- 
mans pay with iron, not with gold," overturned the scales. 
In the battle which followed, the Gauls were driven out of 
the city and forced to leave their ransom-money behind. It 
is natural that the proud Romans should have liked to be- 
lieve this story; but the ransom was undoubtedly paid 
and not recovered. 

344. Results of the Gallic Invasion. — The Gallic storm 
passed away from Rome as quickly as it had come, and the 
results were really favorable to the city's growth. The 
Celts, as they murdered and plundered through central 
Italy, had inflicted great suffering upon the Etruscans, and 
weakened them so greatly that they never again figure in 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 271 

the history of Italy as a race which might aspire to rule its 
destinies, or even to check the growth of Roman power. 
Gradually the Etruscans losl their own racial peculiarities, 
and became an indistinguishable pari of the great unified 
state which Rome buill up in the Italian peninsula during 




l , ; iM -,. ■..-. Vase-painting 01 i Chabioi Race. 
It shows the strong Greek Influence on Etruscan Art. 

the following two centuries. Before this happened, how- 
ever, they had taught the Romans many things of their own 
and much that they had Learned from the Greeks living in 
Italy. 

Anew city sprang up quickly, too hastily indeed, upon the 
ruins of the old Rome. Its streets wore narrow, crooked, and 
dirty. The thankfulness of the Romans over their victory 
did not show itself in the erection of beautiful marble tem- 
ples, as did that of the Athenians after the destruction of 
Athens by Xerxes, a hundred years earlier. In matters of 
art and general culture, the Romans were still several hun- 
dred years behind the Creeks of that same; time, which 
was the period of the Spartan and Theban supremacy. 

345. The Ruling Peoples of Italy in 350 B. 0. — After the 
Gauls had withdrawn, Rome continued to strengthen her 
hold upon southern Etruria. By 350 b. c, all of the coun- 
try northward, even beyond Veii and Caere, was incorporated 
in the state. Colonies of Roman citizens were established 
at Sutrium and Nepete, and from these garrisoned places 
Rome kept a firm hold upon the new members of her state. 
In her wars with the Volscians and ^Equians she was equally 
successful. In their states, too, she planted her colonies 



272 rm: stoky OF ROME 

and ruled with a strong hand, By the year 350 B.C., 
Homo was recognized as the strongest power on the western 
roast oi [taly, and one of the strongest in the whole pe- 
ninsula. 

At the beginning o( the fourth century, Dionysius, the 
tyrant of Syracuse, had succeeded in extending his empire 
over many of the Greek cities of southern [taly, When 
this strong personality was removed by death, in 367 B. c. 




Rom ^n l't kki roRi i\ $50 i'. 



this Greek empire of the West broke down. Again the 
Greek idea o\ the small and independent city-state made it 
impossible for the Greek cities to remain united, and thus 
maintain their liberty against the growing strength of the 
native tribes o\ Italy. 

The most aggressive and powerful of these Italian tribes 
were the Samnites, who had long been united in a loose 
alliance. A portion o\ this tribe had come down from the 
mountains into the lowlands of Campania, ami had taken 
possession of the Ktrnsean eities and of some o( the Greek 



THE SPREAD 01 1 HE POWER 01 ROME 2//, 



cities situated along the coast. A. the Samnifc 
panding we itward, and Rome at the tame time wras extend- 
ing her territory southward, the two peoples came into 
unavoidable conflict. The Greek citie 1 of Italy were clearly 
on Uj<: decline at this time, both i r j commerce and in fighting 




. Wabbiom J' 
Painting from a Samnite Grave. 

power* The Gauls in the North were still barbarians, unfit 
\'<>r the responsibility of ruling civilized states. The prize 
of victory in the wars between Rome and the Samnite 
therefore a great one — the ultimate leadership of the whole 
Italian peninsula. 

346. The Second Samnite War, 320 304 B. C. The strug- 
gle was long and bitter. The ancient historians tell us of a 
First Samnite War lasting from 343 to 341 B. a, the can 
and results of which are not at all clear. \n the more im- 
portant Second Samnite War (326 304 b. c.)j Rome suf- 
fered a great defeat. In 321 b. c«, her army was entrapped 
in a r jar row pa—; in the Apennines, called the Caudine Fork-. 
The consuls could only save the army from annihilation bj 
complete surrender, and they agreed upon a treaty of peace 
distinctly unfavorable to Rome. Then the army was sent 
" under the yoke," as a sign that the soldiers had obtained 



274 



THE STORY OF ROME 



&m 



their freedom through mercy alone. The yoke was formed 
by two spears stuck upright in the ground, crossed by a 
third spear lying horizontally across the top. When the 
army returned to Rome after its humiliation, the Senate 
repudiated the treaty which the consuls had made, and the 
war was resumed. 

Slowly Rome regained the ground she had lost. Her gen- 
erals found it easy to defeat the Samnites in the lowlands, 
but difficult, however, to make their conquests permanent in 
the mountain fastnesses of Samnium. They began to put 
in practice Rome's old policy, that of placing military 

colonies on the 
outskirts of the 
places newly con- 
quered. By a 
series of those 
strongly fortified 
posts, Fregellse, 
Interamna, 
Cales, Saticula, 
and Luceria, the 
Samnites were 
almost encircled 
and penned up 
within their own 
territory. As a 
part of this careful policy in 312 b. c. the Appian Road 
was built from Rome to Capua by the consul Appius 
Claudius. This military road was of great advantage, as it 
brought the city into touch with Capua, the greatest among 
her allies in the south. It had the same importance in an- 
cient warfare that good railroad connections have for a 
modern state in its wars. This period of the wars ended 
with the Samnite state hemmed in and weakened, but still 
able to treat with Rome as an equal. 

347. The Third Samnite War, 298-290 B. C— The interval 
before the outbreak of the Third Samnite War was spent by 
the statesmen of Rome in strengthening her hold on the 




The Appian Way. 

The Ruins along the side are those of ancient Grave 
Monuments. 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 275 

territory she had already acquired. New colonies were es- 
tablished on her frontiers, and her army reorganized and 
strengthened. The Samnites, on their part, made a bold 
and clever move. They allied to themselves the cities of 
northern Etruria, and the dreaded power of the Gauls. All 
of them feared Rome equally, for it was clear that the goal 
of Roman statesmanship was, at that time, nothing less 
than the conquest of the whole of Italy. 

Against this powerful coalition the Roman armies moved 
with energy and confidence, and defeated the allies at the 
battle of Sentinum in Umbria, in 29o b. c. By this defeat 
the Samnites lost the aid of the Gauls and Etruscans; yet 
they fought alone, for five years more, with desperate cour- 
age. So brave were they that Rome, after all these years 
of fighting, received them into her state as independent 
allies. Then she hastened to strengthen her hold upon the 
south by founding a large colony at Venusia, and extending 
the Appian Highway from Capua to that point. 

348. Causes of Rome's Success. — The causes of the grad- 
ual extension of Rome's influence in opposition to all the 
other Italian tribes and to the foreign ' invaders of Italian 
soil, are by no means due solely to her geographical position 
in Italy. Many another city of the Apennine peninsula 
had the same or better opportunity, so far as situation 
goes. The most important reasons for Rome's supremacy 
may be detailed as follows: 

1. The foresight and judgment of her early statesmen, who 
showed great ability in the alliances w r hich they made with other 
states. The early connection with the Latin League is a good 
example of this clever policy. 

2. The policy of maintaining a strong militia. The army 
was continually strengthened as the territory under Rome's 
control increased. Shortly after 400 b. c, pay was given to 
the soldiers when serving in campaigns. This enabled the 
peasant citizens to leave their fields, without danger of star- 
vation to their families. 

3. The unity within the state, obtained by granting the 
lower classes equality of rights with the patricians. 



276 THE STORY OF ROME 

4. The custom of absorbing the newly acquired territory 
within the state. This was done by accepting or forcing the 
newly conquered peoples into the state organization. In va- 
rious degrees they were given a part of the rights which Roman 
citizens had, and were allowed to keep their own government 
for local affairs. Thus the city-state of. Rome kept growing 
outward over Italy, and the people in the new territory learned 
to feel that Rome's interests were their own. Instead of be- 
coming subjects of Rome, they became her " allies and 
friends," to use the Roman phrase. 

5. The custom of holding the Roman conquests by set- 
tling Roman colonies in their midst. With this went the build- 
ing of the military highways, which made it possible for the 
Roman armies to move out quickly wherever trouble threatened. 
These helped to make Rome the commercial metropolis of all 
the territory tapped by her roads, for they all centered at Rome. 

349. Rome as the Champion of Hellenism in the West. — In 
the southernmost portion of Italy, the native tribes, the 
Bruttians and Lueanians, continued to maraud and to harass 
the Greek cities. Rome had become so influential in the 
affairs of Italy that the Greeks naturally turned to the 
Roman Senate for aid. In accepting their appeal for help, 
the city of Rome appears as the protector of the Greek civ- 
ilization in the West against the forces which seemed about 
to overwhelm it. 

The training and experiences of the Roman armies easily 
gave them the victory over the southern Italians. In return 
for her aid Rome demanded that the Greek cities receive 
Roman garrisons, and come under her protection as allies. 
Locrij Croton, Rhegium, and Thurii accepted these condi- 
tions, but the great city of Tarentum did not wish to give 
up its independence. Under its leadership, an alliance was 
formed among the Greek cities against Rome, and Pyrrhus 
of Epirus, a general who had had admirable training in mili- 
tary science in the continuous warfare among Alexander's 
successors, was summoned to command the 4 forces. 

350. The War with Tarentum, 281 272 B. C— When he 
came over from Epirus with his well-seasoned army and his 



THE SPREAD OF THE POWER OF ROME 277 

twenty war elephants, Pyrrhus had other designs than that 
of merely repelling the advance of Rome. He wished to do 
in the West what Alexander had done in the East, to unite 




Italy at the Time of the Samnite Wars and the War With Pyrrhus. 

the Greeks and form an Hellenic empire. The empire he 
planned to conquer was to include Lower Italy, Sicily, and 
the territory of Carthage in northern Africa. 

He found the task of beating the Romans a far harder 



278 THE sroKY OF ROME 

one than he had anticipated. His superior generalship, his 
trained soldiers, and his war elephants enabled him to defeat 
thom on the field oi battle as at Heraclea in 280 B.C., and 
at Ast/uhim in 279 B.C., when the Romans fought des- 
perately but vainly against the solid mass of the Mace- 
donian phalanx. Their horses as well as their soldiers were 
terrified by the sight oi the war elephants, which they had 
aever soon before. The stubborn bravery of the Romans, 
despite their defeat, is said to have excited the admiration 
of Pyrrhus himself. The story is told that he exclaimed, 
"With such soldiers I would become mast or oi the world!" 

Following out his larger designs, Pyrrhus crossed over into 
Sicily to lead the Greeks against the Carthaginians. Here, 
too, he was unsuccessful. When he returned to Italy, Pyr- 
rhus found that the Romans had learned how to moot even 
the greatest Greek general of that day. After a crushing 
defeat at Beneventum in 275 b.c, ho returned to Epirus, 
Tarentum was forced to surrender to Homo in, 272 b. c, an J 
this date marks the consolidation under the standards oi 
Homo of all Italy south oi the To Valley, 

References for Outside Beading 

Botsford, Storj of Rome, oh. 3, 4; Munro, Source Book, pp, 71-77; 

Plutarch, s I olanus, CamiUus, Pyrrhus; Abbott. Roman 

ch, 4, 5 ; Pelham, Outlines book 11. ch. 

1. 2; How and Leigh, 11- 8, ch. 6-16; Shuckburgh, History 

of Rome, ch, 6-15j Taylor. Constitutional and Politico! /.•' 

h, 3-5, 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

\. The Legend of Virginia \\p rut- Decemvir. Li ... book 111, 
sec. 44-58; < m naries under "Virginia"; Macaulay, 

s . I ' ' 
•J. Legendary Career of Camillus. Plutarch, 1 (\unillus. 

3. The Legend of Corioi vm s, botsford. Story qf Rome } pp, 63- 

66; Plutarch, ! tnus 

4. The Immoi vriox of Publics Decius During phb Last 

Samntte War. /:;.. book X. ch, 26-29. 

5. The Embassi of Cineas to Rome. Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 

81-82; Plutarch, Life of Pyrrhus, sec, 13 ff. 



CHAPTER XXVI 



SOME AND CARTHAGE BEGIN A WAR FOR 
PREMACY IN 'I BE WEfiH 

351. The Commercial Empire of Carthage. In the eighth 
and seventh centuries b. c. occurred the Greek colonization 

of the western Mediterranean. On the island of Sicily the 
Greeks found colonies already planted, which had been sent 
out. from the old Semitic emporium of the West, the cil 
Carthage. The Jiff and politic, of this city were guided in 
every way \>y the demands of its commerce. It was ruled 
by an aristocracy of capitalists, whose thoughts 
were all bent upon making money, and pre- 
ring ill': trade which was the city's life. 
When the activity of the Greeks threatened 
to break its monopoly of western trade-, Car- 
thage bent <iv<-sy energy toward preventing 
this. A vast mercenary anny was hired 
from all parts of the world and well paid out 
of the Carthaginian treasury. Supported by 
this force, the proud city was enabled to 
build up an empire stretching along the shores 
of northern Africa. An immense fleet pro- 
tected its commerce, and kepi the capital in BjragATBD 
touch with the outlying colonies in Africa, &*»»««*»■ of 
Spam, Sardinia, and Sicily. M >. bb. 

352. Wars with the Greeks of Sicily. — The fre- 
quent wars between Carthage and the Greek cities of Sicily, 
which we touched upon in our study of the Greek cities, were 
the outcome of commercial rivalry for the profitable trade of 
the island. A^ain and again f'artha^e advanced from her 
garrisons, in the fruitless effort to conquer the Hellenic 
cities. These wars extended over a long period of time, 

270 




280 THE STORY OF ROME 

from 481 to 285 b. c, recurring again and again when the 
weakness and disunion of the Greeks afforded a favorable 
opportunity to the watchful generals of Carthage. 

In 480 b. c. the Carthaginian invasion of Sicily, which was 
combined with that of the Persian Xerxes against the Greek 
mother-land, was driven back at Himera. At the end of the 
Peloponnesian War, when all the Greek states of the eastern 
Mediterranean were worn out by that bitter struggle, the 
Sicilian cities were saved from Carthage only by the genius 
of Dionysius of Syracuse. In the years 344 to 337 b. c, 
Timoleon of Corinth united them under the standards of 
Syracuse, and drove the Carthaginians back to their old 
holdings in western Sicily. Pyrrhus of Epirus was not alto- 
gether unsuccessful in his leadership against the Carthagin- 
ians, although he failed lamentably to fulfill his own ambi- 
tion of establishing himself as ruler of a western Greek 
empire. 

353. Early Relations of Carthage and Rome. — In the first 
century of this struggle with Greek civilization Carthage 
allied herself with the Etruscans, because the commerce of 
both peoples was equally endangered by the advance of the 
Greeks. When the Samnite wars had disclosed the power 
of Rome, as the most compact and progressive state in cen- 
tral Italy, Carthage hastened to make a treaty with the 
rising republic. In this treaty, of which a record has been 
handed down to us in the pages of the Greek historian 
Polybius, Carthage sets definite limits beyond which Roman 
trading vessels may not sail. 

This was the custom of Carthage, to prevent all other 
powers, by treaty or by force, from breaking into the trade 
of the far West, which she had so long controlled. She 
wished to have a monopoly of the western commerce, and 
her merchant princes were not overscrupulous in the 
methods which they employed to gain this end. The Greek 
geographer Eratosthenes says that the Carthaginians would 
throw into the sea any foreigners whom they caught sailing 
about Sardinia, or toward the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar). 

354. The Change in these Relations. — So long as the Ro- 



WAR FOR THE SUPREMACY IN THE WEST 281 



mans were fighting to overcome the Greeks of southern Italy, 
King Pyrrhus was an enemy as dangerous to them as he 
was to the Carthaginians of Sicily. Therefore Rome and 
Carthage had a mutual desire for his defeat, and they made 
a treaty by which Rome was to receive ships from the Car- 
thaginians if need should arise. 

As soon, however, as Pyrrhus returned to Greece, and 
Rome had taken Tarentum (272 b. a), the situation was 
greatly changed. Now the Romans appeared as the single 
great opponent in the West of the Semitic merchant-city. 
When Magna Grsecia, or lower Italy, came within her 
domain, Rome seemed destined to be the champion of 
Hellenic civilization in the West against the advance of the 
old Semitic civilization of Babylon and Egypt represented 
by Carthage. 

Plutarch tells a story which implies that Pyrrhus himself 
foresaw that Rome and Carthage must surely come to blows 
over Sicily. " It is 
reported that when 
he was sailing away 
he looked back at the 
island of Sicily, and 
said to those about 
him: 'What an arena 
we are leaving, my 
friends, to the Car- 
thaginians and the 
Romans.' " 

355. Development of Rome's Coinage and Trade.— There 
could be little doubt that war would arise between these 
two powers, because Carthaginian policy demanded that 
Sicily be added to her commercial domain, and that the 
Romans should not be permitted to develop their trade so 
as to interfere with the monopoly held by the merchants of 
Carthage. The simple business life of Rome had devel- 
oped, however, in the two centuries of the life of the repub- 
lic. The only coin which Rome had minted before the 
taking of Tarentum had been a heavy copper disk, called 
19 




Roman Copper Coin of about 338 b. c. 

Shows Head of Janus upon one side, the Prow of a 
Ship upon the other. 



2S2 



THE STORY OF ROME 




Roman Silvbb 

(\un OF k.B01 C 269 B. C. 

Minted it Capua. 

Tli«> Head of the God 
Janus Shows the strong 
Greek tnfluenoe. 



the os, with the head of Janus on one side and the bow of a 

ship on the other. The lack of silver coins must have 
hampered Home greatly in commerce with other peoples, 
and shows that the city had not yet entered into the larger 
business of over-sea trade. 

When Tarentum was taken, the biggest commercial port 
of Italy became Rome's subject, and the Romans began to 
think of the advantages of foreign trade. 
About 200 B.C., the first silver coinage 
of the republic appeared, and Rome was 
ready to break into the world's markets. 
In every way, therefore, Carthage tried 
to keep the foreign trade of Rome within 
the narrowest possible limits. 

356. Immediate Cause of the First 
Punic War. — The occasion which actually 
brought on the war was an incident in 
itself not important. A band of Italian 
mercenary soldiers, being out of employ- 
ment, had seized the Sicilian city of Messana, murdered the 
citizens, and seized their homes. Syracuse could not look upon 
their actions without taking some steps to punish the out- 
laws. When the Mamertines(" Sons of Mars"), as the ^mercen- 
aries styled themselves, were hard beset by Syracuse, and saw 
a just and terrible punishment before them, they began to look 
for aid. One party in the city wished to call in the Cartha- 
ginians, another to seek aid from 
Rome, promising to turn the city 
over if they should be protected from 
the wrath of Syracuse. 

When the matter was brought be- 
fore the Roman Senate, in 204 B. C, 
everyone knew that the sending of 
aid would mean a war with Carthage. 
Yet Rome could not permit her power- 
ful rival to entrench a garrison so near to Italian soil. 
When the Roman troops reached Messana, they found a 
Carthaginian garrison already in possession. They drove 



SALt 01 MUI 




at.*** 



Syracuse 



Scene of the First Punic 
War. 



WAR FOR THE SUPREMACY I.\ THE WEST 283 

out this garrison, and with this action began a scries of 
momentous wars (264-146 b. c.) which were qoI definitely 
ended until more than a hundred years had passed. They 
decided first the fate of Sicily, and later the destiny of all 
the Mediterranean world. 

357. Sources for the Carthaginian or Punic Wars. — Two 
very good histories survive from antiquity which give us 
information upon these Punic Wars. Parts of each, how- 
ever, are lost, so that our knowledge of certain years of the 
wars is good, of other years meager. Of these two sources, 
the earlier and better is the Greek work of Polybius, an 
Achaean, who was brought to Rome as a hostage in 166 b. c, 
and remained there for sixteen years. His history is a 
general study of Mediterranean affairs from 220 to 146 b. c, 
with an introduction which covers Roman history from the 
burning of the city by the Gauls, and includes a sketch of 
the First Punic War. Polybius ranks next to Thucydides 
among the ancient historians. Livy, the Latin historian, 
often displays his Roman sympathies, and is by no means so 
trustworthy a guide as Polybius. He had the disadvantage, 
also, of living 150 years later than Polybius, and was con- 
sequently not so closely in touch with the Punic Wars as 
was the Greek writer. 

358. Relative Strength of the Two Contestants. — An ob- 
server, living at the time of the outbreak of the Punic Wars, 
and comparing the strength and resources of the two n;it ions, 
would have found it difficult to decide which had the greater 
chance of success. For each nation was very strong in 
certain ways; yet the contrast between them was very great. 

The income of Carthage from her tributary states, and 
from the customs duties imposed upon articles of export and 
import, far exceeded the; income of the Roman state. On 
the other hand, her expenses were far greater, because her 
armies were chiefly made up of mercenaries whose pay was high. 

Rome fought with her citizen army. This gave her the 
more efficient land troops, trained by the wars in Italy, and 
devoted to their state. The professional soldiers of Car- 
thage were not animated by any feeling of affection for their 



284 THE STORY OF ROME 

masters. As head of the Italian confederation, Rome could call 
into the field 700,000 foot-soldiers and 70,000 cavalry. In this 
branch of the service the superiority of Rome was manifest. 

The Carthaginian navy was the best in the world. Upon 
its benches rowed the citizens of Carthage. Her war-ships 
were the pride of the state — the very props which supported 
her loosely organized empire. The Romans had but a small 
fleet, which could be increased by calling upon the Greek 
allies of Rome situated along the shores of lower Italy. On 
the sea the advantage held by Carthage was tremendous. 

In geographical situation, the Roman state was a compact, 
solid body, the single peninsula of Italy. There was little 
hostility toward Rome as leader of the Italian Confederacy. 
Carthage, on the contrary, had an empire scattered and hard 



• 


















'• ..J 


l :S.. 





Sea Fight Between Two Ancient Vessels. 
From a Wall-painting at Pompeii. 

to hold together. Because of the greed and oppressive con- 
duct of the capitalistic nobility which ruled Carthage, there 
was hatred rather than devotion to the merchant-city among 
her dependents. Here again the advantage lay with Rome. 
359. The First Punic War, 264-241 B. C— For twenty- 
three years the contest was waged on the island of Sicily 
and the sea around it, with one attempt to invade Africa, 
made by the Roman general Regulus, in 256-255 b. c. 
This resulted in a serious defeat for the invading army, and 
the attempt was not repeated by the Romans. Upon land 
the Romans were at first successful. Their victories won 
the alliance of the city of Syracuse (263 B.C.), the last 
important Hellenic city of the West to remain independent. 



WAR FOR THE SUPREMACY IN THE WEST 285 

Together they drove the Carthaginians into the very western- 
most part of Sicily; but the Carthaginian navy remained un- 
harmed. It harried the coasts of Sicily and Italy, and inflicted 
immense damage upon the commerce of Rome and her allies. 
At last the Roman Senate saw that Carthage must be met 
upon the sea before the war could be brought to a close. 
The Senate determined to create a larger navy, and increase 
the size and speed of their ships, for the Carthaginian fleet 
comprised many quinqueremes, ships which were larger and 
swifter than the Roman and Greek triremes. 

360. The Building of the New Fleet.— Polybius tells us, 
with the greatest admiration, how the Romans met this 
difficulty of supplying a navy. They knew nothing of the 
construction of quinqueremes. Fortunately they got hold 
of a Carthaginian ship which had run aground on the Italian 
coast. Using this as a model, they built 100 quinqueremes, 
and added to these twenty triremes. While the ships were 
building, the crews were collected and trained for the rowing. 

They made the men sit on rowers' benches on dry land, in 
the same order as they would sit on the benches in actual 
vessels; in the midst of them they stationed the boatswain, 
and trained them to get back and draw in their hands all 
together in time, and then to swing forward and throw them 
out again, and to begin and cease these movements at the 
word of the boatswain. (Polybius, I, ch. 21.) 

361. How the Romans Showed their Practical Genius. — 
Still the Romans found themselves unable to vie with the 
well-trained Carthaginian crews in maneuvering and quickly 
changing the direction of their ships. They felt, however, 
that they were better fighters in hand-to-hand combat. 
Some Roman of an inventive turn of mind designed a 
machine which enabled the Romans to board the enemy's 
ships, and thus changed the whole aspect of the naval war- 
fare of the time. This device was called the "corvus," or 
"crow." It was a sort of bridge, thirty-six feet long by four 
feet wide, suspended in the air by rope and pulley upon a 
twenty-four foot pole at the ship's prow. At the end of the 
bridge was a heavy iron spike in the shape of a crow's beak. 



2S0 



THE STOKY OF ROME 



The whole mechanism could be swung from side to side. 
As the ships of the hostile tleet approached, whether from 
the front or from the side, the Romans swung the "crow" 
over and let it drop, smashing into the enemy's deck. 

As soon as the "crows" were fixed in the planks of the docks 
and grappled the ships together, if the ships were alongside of 

each other, the men leaped on board anywhere along the side; 
but if they were prow to prow, they used the "crow" itself 
for boarding, and advanced over it two abreast. The first two 
protected their front by holding up before them their .shields, 
while those who came after them secured their sides by placing 
the rims oi their shields upon the top oi the railing oi the 
bridge. (Polybius, 1. eh. 22 ) 

362. The Great Naval Victories of Rome.- In 260 B. C, off 

the headland of My he. the Roman consul Duilius won a 
signal victory over the Carthaginians, who sailed against 
the Roman tleet. as Rely bins says, with 
joy and alacrity, feeling supreme con- 
tempt for the Roman ignorance of sea- 
manship. Hut the Carthaginians were 
tmable to meet the now device of the 
corvus. and lost fifty ships during the 
action. The enthusiasm at Rome over 
the victory was great. A monument 
was set up. adorned with the beaks of 
the captured ships, upon which there 
was an Inscription recounting the glorious 
victory under Duilius. 

When the expedition under the consul 
Regulus set out to invade Africa in 'Job 
B. C, it was met near the southern 
shore of Sicily, just off Mt. Kcnomus. by a 
great Carthaginian tleet. Again the Car- 
t hagmians suffered a t errific defeat . Poly- 
bius gives some startling figures as to the numbers en- 
gaged in the battle, which enable one to make a mental 
picture of the tight ing. and give an idea of the great impor- 




A K - S ' TBM 

■ S ' ITJS, 



WAR FOR THE SUPREMACY I\ THE WEST 287 

bance of the expedition. Seldom in the history of the world 
have so many men risked their lives in a single sea-fight. 

The total number of men making up the [Roman] naval force 
amounted to nearly 140,000, reckoning each ship as carrying 
300 rowers and L20 soldiers. The Carthaginians, on the other 
hand, made their preparations almost exclusively with a view 
to a naval engagement. Their numbers, it' we reckon by the 
number of their ships, were over 150,000 men. The mere 
recital of these figures must, I should imagine, strike anyone 
with astonishment at the magnitude of the struggle, and the 
vast, resources of the contending states. (Polybius, I, ch. 26.) 

363. The War Drags on for Years. After the defeat of 
the army of the consul Regulus in Africa (255 B.C.), the 
war dragged on with no decisive result. The victories which 
Roman ingenuity wrested from the Carthaginians by sea 
were offset by the fact that the consuls, who had command 
of the fleets, were not, trained sailors. They lost, the greater 
part of three large Meets, with their crews, through sudden 
storms, or by reckless .attempts to sail out in bad weather. 

During the whole war, no Roman genera] of real great- 
ness appeared. Toward the end of the war Hamilcar 
Barca (Hamilcar the Lightning-bolt), a young Punic noble, 
was given charge of the Carthaginian troop- in western 
Sicily, and proved himself a general of greal ability. As 
the talents and reputation of Philip of Macedon have been 
eclipsed by the genius of his son, Alexander the Great, so 
Hamilcar's reputation has been lessened because his son 
Hannibal surpassed him. Philip, in building up the Mace- 
donian army, forged the sword with which Alexander cut 
his way to fame. Hamilcar both created the army and out- 
lined the plan of invading Italy which Hannibal carried out 
in the second Punic War. Though the plan was doomed to 
failure, the daring of its conception, and the genius dis- 
played by Hannibal even in defeat, have made the name of 
father and son imperishable in history. 

364. The End of the War.- The energy and keenness of 
Hamilcar did not avail againsl the bull-dog persistence of 



288 THE STORY OF ROME 

the Roman state. In 241 b. c, the last Carthaginian fleet 
was destroyed in the battle of the Agates Islands. By this 
time the Carthaginian treasury was empty, and the govern- 
ment gave Hamilcar Barca lull power to treat for the state 
with Rome. He agreed to withdraw all Carthaginian troops 
from Sicily, and to pay a great sum to Rome as indemnity 
for her expenses in t he war. 

Thus Sicily, with the exception of the Greek kingdom of 
Syracuse, became a part of the domain of the Roman state. 
A new problem came up befori the Roman Senate, in deal* 
i n o; with this land outside the [talian peninsula. It could 
not be connected with Home by a military road. How was 
it to be governed? The decision was made to treat it. 
differently from the territory conquered in ttaly, which had 
been joined to the state itself as an integral part. It was to 
he subject territory, a tribute-paying "province," removed 
from the regular administration of the consuls and their 
assistants, and governed by a praetor who was to be sent 
out annually from Rome. 

The annexation oi Sicily wrought an important change in 

the Roman state. It had been a unified, solidified city- 
state, covering a united territory, Now it entered upon a 
career o\ foreign conquest which led it on stop by stop 
toward the subjection o{ the Mediterranean states, until 
Rome's empire covered almost all the civilized world o( that 

day. 

Though Rome and her allies in Italy had suffered dread- 
fully from the ravages o( the long war. it had done one ^ood 
thing for them. The Italians were drawn closer to Rome 
by a danger which threatened all o( them equally, They 

felt that they must stand or fall with Rome in the war 
against a people whose civilization was absolutely foreign 

to t heir own. 

3G5. The Bad Faith of Rome toward Carthage. At the 
tMid o( the war the Carthaginian mercenaries returned from 
Sicily to Africa. Their pay was long overdue, but there 
was no money to l>o had at Carthage. The mercenaries 
finally became so Incensed that they marched in revolt 



WAR FOR TUN SUPREMACY IN THE WEST 289 



againsl the city that hired them; and, at fche same time, 
the mercenaries upon fche island of Sardinia revolted. After 
two yens of fche most, cruel warfare, in which mercy was 
unknown bo either side, Hamilcar succeeded in saving his 
state by annihilal iu^ fche rebellious armies in Africa. 

When the Carthaginians started to bring the revolt in 
Sardinia to an end, the Roman Senate asserted that Car- 
fchage was making war upon Rome. Accordingly it de- 
clared war upon Carthage, a city already on the verge of 
ruin. Since the Carthaginians could not fight, they yielded 
to Koine's demands. Their war indemnity was increased, 
and they were forced to give up Sardinia, which was soon 
after combined with Corsica into one province, and added 
to Rome's territory as Sicily had been. 

366. The Carthaginian Empire in Spain. — Tt was this pieC( 
of political robbery which brought upon Rome fche undying 
hatred of Hamilcar Barca and his sous. The great leader 
was given full command of 
fche Punic army, and was so 
popular i hat he practically 
guided fche policies of the 
slide. I lis one idea \v;is to 
begin ;i war of revenge 
upon Rome. Since I he ( !ar- 
fchaginians had failed to 
conquer Koine with their 
superior fleets, he planned a war by land, an invasion 
of [taly by way of [beria (Spain). 

Iu order to accomplish this, it was necessary to bring 
Spain completely under Carthaginian power, since it was to 
serve ;is l he base of operations. This plan introduced a 
change in the colonial policy of Carthage, [nstead of 
merely establishing trading cities on the coast, she now 
soughl <o hold the entire country as a part of her empire. 
From 236 B.C., until his death in 228 B.C., Hamilcar Barca 
labored unceasingly at this work. From 228 to 221 b. c. 
fche command lay with his son-in-law Hasdrubal. In 221 
B.C., Hannibal, son of Hamilcar, succeeded fco this same 




Carthaginian Szlvsb Coin Issued in 
Spain. 



290 THE STORY OF ROME 

command. Late in his life, Hannibal himself told the origin 
of his hatred for Home in the following words: 

When my father was about to go on his [berian expedition I 
was oine years old; and as he was offering sacrifice to Zeus I 
stood near the altar. When the sacrifice had boon successfully 
performed, my father called me to him and asked me affection- 
ately whether 1 wished to go with him on his expedition. 
When 1 eagerly assented and begged with boyish enthusiasm 
to be allowed to go, ho took me by tho right hand and led me 
iii> to the altar. Ilo bade me lay my hand upon the victim 
and swear that I would never ho friends with Rome. So there 4 
is nothing in my power that I should not do against her. (Poly- 

bius, HI, eh. 11.) 

References for Outside Beading 

Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. L01-115; Munro, Source Hook, pp, 
78-84; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, pp. 111-126) Abbott, 
Short History of Rome, pp. 81-91; How and Leigh, History of Rome, ch. 
17, 18, 20; Shuckburgh, History of Home, ch. 17-20; \V. W. How, 
Hannibal, ch. L-2; Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, ch. 1-8. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Carthaginian State. How and Leigh, pp. 143-149; 

Mommsen, History of Rome, Hook III, ch. 1. 

2. Defeat of Regulus in Africa. -Mommsen, History of Home, 

Book 111. ch. 2; Smith, Carthage and tin Carthaginians, eh. 6. 

3. Life \m> Religion of Carthage.— Smith, Carthage ami the 

Carthaginians, pp. 29-38. 

4. Bamilcab wn the Last Years ov the War. — Botsford, 

Story of Rome, pp. 110-112; Munro, Source Hook, pp. 81-83; 
Polybius, Hook 1, Bee. 56-62. 

5. Carthage ind the Mercenary War. — Smith, Carnage and the 

Carthaginians, ch. 8. 



CHAPTER XXVII 

HANNIBAL IN ITALY.— ROME BECOMES SUPREME 
IN THE WEST 

367. The Influence of Rome Extends into Western Greece, 
229-228 B. C. — The reputation of Rome rose mightily be- 
cause of the successful outcome of her long war with Car- 
thage. Her trade increased, not only with Sicily and Sar- 
dinia, but also up into the northern parts of the Adriatic 
sea. From this latter place complaints kept coming in to 
the Senate, from Italian merchants and from cities of the 
western coast of Greece, Epidamnus and the island of 
Corcyra especially, that they were constantly being plun- 
dered by a band of pirates who made their headquarters in 
the kingdom of Illyria. In fact, this whole kingdom was 
supported almost entirely by its piratical raids. 

Rome took up the war against the pirate state (229-228 
B.C.), and brought it quickly to terms. As a result, Rome 
was looked upon as a protector by the most important 
Greek cities along the Adriatic sea. This fact drew her 
inevitably into the turmoil of Greek politics, and we shall 
see how one success followed another until all the East lay 
conquered by Roman arms. 

368. The Valley of the Po Becomes Roman Domain, 
225-222 B. C— During the First Punic War, the warlike Celts 
in the Po Valley and in Gaul had served by thousands in the 
mercenary armies of Carthage. When this outlet for their 
fighting ardor was closed, they began to assemble upon both 
sides of the Alps, and it became apparent at Rome that the 
danger from the Celts would never be ended until those who 
lived in northern Italy had been completely conquered. 

At the same time Rome was beginning to push her colonies 
northward along the Adriatic coast. This movement was 

291 



292 THE STORY OF ROME 

due to the statesmanship of Gaius Flaminius. He saw that 
the noble capitalists had become greedy for wealth, and that 
they preferred to obtain the public domain by leasing large 
tracts at a low rental, rather than let it be given out to the 
poorer classes of citizens in small freeholds. In 232 b. c, 
he secured the passage of a land law by which the state 
domain in Picenum and among the Senones was distributed 
in small holdings to Roman citizens. So the Celts, too, saw 
the necessity before them of a decisive war which should 
determine whether the Po Valley was to remain in their 
hands, or become a part of Roman Italy. 

This Gallic war, which occupied Rome's attention during 
the years 225-222 b. c, ended with a complete victory for 
Rome. In 220 b. c, a highway, which had extended north- 
east through Etruria, was carried further over the Apen- 
nines, as far as Ariminum. It was called the Via Flaminia, 
after the statesman Gaius Flaminius, who had urged the 
enterprise. On the Po River, in the midst of the Gallic 
territory, two Roman colonies were founded, Placentia and 
Cremona. With this step, the long fight of Rome for the 
leadership of the entire peninsula of Italy was definitely 
ended. 

369. The Carthaginian Power in Spain. — While busied 
with these wars, the Roman statesman watched with jealous 
eyes the growth of the Carthaginian empire in Spain. In 
the camp of the great Hamilcar, his three sons, Hannibal, 
Hasdrubal, and Mago had grown up. The proud father 
called them the " Lion's Whelps," and filled them with his 
determination to get revenge upon Rome for her perfidy 
in taking Sardinia. 

The conquest of Spain was carried on slowly but surely. 
The Carthaginian leaders collected money to pay the ex- 
penses of their coming expedition, and built up a powerful, 
well-trained army which was devoted to them. All of south- 
eastern Spain, excepting the Iberian city of Saguntum, fell 
under Carthaginian sway. With this city, Rome formed an 
alliance, with the purpose of making it the northern limit of 
the Carthaginian advance, and the basis for the war against 



HANNIBAL IN ITALY 293 

Carthage which the Senate thought would be waged in 
Spain and in Africa. 

370. Hannibal. — In 221 b. c, Hasdrubal, the son-in-law 
of Hamilcar, and his successor in the Iberian command, was 
assassinated. The army, without delay, hailed Hannibal as 
its leader. The Roman historian, Livy, has left us a descrip- 
tion of this young man, and the blind devotion which his 
soldiers felt toward him, even when he first took command. 

The veterans thought that Hamilcar had returned to life. 
They noted the same energy in Hannibal's face, the same keen 
glance, the same features and expression. In a short time 
Hannibal's likeness to his father was the least consideration in 
winning their esteem. He was absolutely fearless in going into 
danger, very prudent when it was on hand. No amount of 
labor fatigued him, physically or mentally. He endured heat 
and cold equally well. He limited his food and drink according 
to the dictates of nature rather than of pleasure. His hours of 
waking and sleeping were not determined by the changes of 
day and night. What time remained over when his tasks were 
done he gave to rest, which he did not seek upon a soft couch 
or in a quiet place. Many times the soldiers saw him lying on 
the ground amid the outposts and the guards, wrapped in a 
military cloak. He was the first to enter a battle, the last to 
leave it. (Livy, XXI, ch. 4.) 

Livy speaks of a vicious side of his nature, but the his- 
tory of the man's life does not bear out the Roman writer's 
criticisms. He had that quality which has distinguished 
all the greatest generals — the ability to inflame his army 
with an enthusiastic loyalty which made them endure every 
hardship and danger for his sake. During his whole career, 
even when the chance of war turned badly against him, 
there was no sign of mutiny among his men. Yet they were, 
for the greater part, a paid soldiery, animated only by the 
personal attraction of their leader, with no feeling of loyalty 
toward the state they served. 

371. The Roman Army. — Service in the army of the 
Roman state was compulsory upon all able-bodied citizens 
from their nineteenth to their forty-seventh years. The 



29 I 



THE STOKY OF ROME 



basis of the military organisation was the leg ■ . which num- 
bered normally 3,000 heavy-armed foot-soldiers, 1.200 light- 
armed men, and 300 cavalry. The heavy-armed infantry 
was divided, according to length of service, into three parts. 

The youngest recruits (th s numbered 1.200 to each 
legion, and fought in the front rank. In the second rank 
were aligned the men who were older in service (th< s . 

numbering 1.200 to a legion. The third rank was made up 
of the veterans of tried courage (the brum ), 600 in each 

_ an, 

This body of heavy-armed troops was divided into 30 
maniples or companies.' The battle-line consisted of ten 

companies on the front. 

aaaaaaaaaa soparatod by imorva i sof 

Ci a a a a a a a a a the length of one com- 
pany. At a distance be- 
hind these open spaces 
stood the companies of 
the second rank. Further back and directly behind the 
maniples of the front rank the veteran companies were 
aligned. The idea of these spaces was to give the army 
a greater mobility than the solid Macedonian phalanx had 
had. The veterans were held in reserve until the cri- 
sis of the battle came. ^_^_^ 

when they were thrown ^\ .*lSx i ■ ^L ==s ^\ 

> J f—= =s=^_Y 



a a a 



a Ui Ud Ql G3 C2 Ld 



Mas 








- 



test to give the deciding 
blow. 

578 Armor and Wea- 
pons. The heavy-armed 

nary soldiers wore helmets Me or iron, sometimes 

decorated with a high plume. A corselet of leather sti 
woven in and out, protected the upper part of dy, with 

an iron plate about nine inches in height and h cover- 

ing the vital parts of the breast. Below the corselet hung a 

cht -armed D - - but 

added in groups of for: uch manip 



HANNIBAL IN ITALY 295 

short Leather skirt, which was strengthened with metal plates. 
A large four-cornered shield with a curved surface completed 
the defensive armor. 
The chief offensive weapon was the javelin (pi7um), which 

was hurled at the enemy from a distance oi about forty or 
fifty feet. It hail a thin 



i \ n^ »= 



rnuvr l'\ psa OF nil Cm v\i. 



iron point about three ^ " 
foot Ions, hardened at the 
end, fitted into a shaft oi 
about the same length. 
A blow from the pilum always caused a dangerous wound. 1 
After hurling the javelin, the soldiers rushed in to join 
with the enemy hand to hand. Hero they used the sword, 
which hung at the right side, and was adapted alike for 
Cut and thrust. If the victory was not won by the two 
front rows oi maniples with the javelin and sword, the vet- 
erans advanced. Their principal weapon was a long and 
heavy spear, which was used only for thrusting. 

The light-armed troops were used at the opening of battles. 
They hurled light spears, stones, and leaden balls from a dis- 
tance into the opposing ranks, then retired through the open- 
ings in the line, as the heavy-armed troops advanced. 

373. The Beginning of the Wax.— In the year 219 B.C., 
Hannibal felt prepared for the war against Home. lie at- 
tacked Saguntum, the ally oi Koine, and took it after a 
desperate siege of eight months. The Roman Senate pre- 
pared to punish Carthage by a double invasion oi Spain and 
Africa, but before their fleet arrived in Spain. Hannibal was 
well on the march toward Italy (218 B. C.). 

After five months of marching, the Punic army reached the 
To Valley. Their losses were great, especially during the 
difficult passage of the Alps; for the army had arrived there 
late in the fall, probably in September, when the snow had 
begun to fall. Fifteen days were spent in crossing, days 
tilled with fighting against the wild Alpine mountaineers, 

1 It lias been shown that the point oi the pilum will pierce a board 
an inch in thickness. 



296 



THE STORY OF ROME 



with terrible suffering to horses and men. In the nai 
sses they wore attacked by the enemy from the he\ 
above, and in the contusion men and animals were often 
pushed off the precip - >o their lives in th< gorges 

below. 

With only 26,000 men. less than halt of th which 

started from Spain, and these emaciated and worn, the young 




N . W V'S. 



of Ron 

I 
3 y. 

;^-i The Second Punk W*I 118 Ml B C Foi 

- \ very effoi Hannibal ov. 

ltalv. In the tirst fcl - genius oi 5 man 



HANNIBAL IN ITALY 297 

threatened to break into pieces tin' state which Rome had 
taken so long to build. The Celts of northern [taly eagerly 
joined the Carthaginian ranks; but Hannibal was deceived 

in his hope that, the remaining Italians would desert Rome 

and regard him as their liberator from Roman oppression. 

This faithfulness of the Italians was largely due to the Roman 

policy of giving ihem a, share in the rights and privileges 
of Roman citizenship. 

The loss of life suffered by the armies of Home and her 
allies in the first I hree years of the war was appalling. I 'pon 
a cold December morning of the year 218 B.C., on the banks 
of Trebia River, Hannibal enticed the Roman consul to 
join battle with him under conditions which gave the 
Romans no chance of victory. The Carthaginian cavalry 
had been sent across 1 he river to begin I lie engagement, 
and, when they began to retreat, the Roman troops had 
followed them, wading through the icy waters of the river. 
In the midst of I he bat lie the Romans were set upon from 
an ambush in their rear by a chosen band of 2,000 Punic 
soldiers, under the command of Mago, youngest of the 
"Lion's Brood." In the panic which resulted the Roman 
forces were put to the sword, with the loss of some 20,000 men. 

In the following year Gaius Flaminius was elected to the 
consulship, as the people's candidate. On a foggy morn- 
ing, Flaminius led his army into a death-trap which Han- 
nibal had set for him in a small, crescent-like plain, on the 
shore of Lake Trasimene in central Italy. The consul 
Flaminius died, fighting bravely. The Roman soldiers, de- 
spite their bravery, were at a great disadvantage, and the 
army was destroyed, with 15,000 captured and If), 000 killed. 

375. The Slaughter at Cannae, 216 B. C— Although her 
generals were but amateurs in the art of war as compared 
with Hannibal, we must admire the dauntless courage of 
the Romans, which, after years of defeat, finally brought 
them success. For the campaign of the year 216 B.C., the 
Senate brought out an immense levy, 80,000 infantry and 
6,000 cavalry, to crush the 50,000 men who followed the 
great Carthaginian. 
20 



298 THE STORY OF ROME 

Hannibal had !<-< I his army southward into Apulia, and the 
Roman consuls came upon him near Cannae. He drew up 
his army in a broad plain which offered a fine opportunity 

for the use of his wonderful cavalry from the Nuinidian 

desert ol norlh Africa, lie arranged liis forces in (lie form of 
a crescent, with its center nearest the Roman line. The 
center was formed by the [berian and Celtic troops, arranged 

in :i line thinner than usual. Upon the sides were the Lib- 
Nan soldiers, upon whom Hannibal chiefly depended. 

As the Romans advanced, Hannibal's center gradually 

gave back. As they pushed forward, always pressing in 

toward the center, the Romans were attacked upon each 
Bank by the Libyan troops. The Numidian cavalry de- 
feated (he Roman horsemen who opposed them, then BWUQg 
round and fell upon the Roman lines from the Pear. Thus 
the Roman army was entirely hemmed in. As the circle 

kept narrowing, those toward the center were not free to 

move and use their weapons. Retreat was impossible and 

no quarter was given. The Romans left 70, ()()() dead and 

wounded upon the field. Only a lew thousand eseaped, with 
one of I he consuls, to Koine. 

37G. The Remaining Years of the War. This was Home's 
darkest hour. Capua and other Greek cities of southern 

h.ily revolted, and offered aid to Hannibal. Syracuse 
threw off its old alliance with Rome, and sought to regain 

the leadership of Sicily. Philip V of Macedon allied himself 

with the Carthaginians, and promised to send troops to aid 
them in Italy a promise which was not fulfilled. 

At this time the 4 wonderful courage and spirit of the 

Roman people saved the stale. Slowly, year by year, the 
Roman generals made progress against their great enemy. 
In 212 b. c. Syracuse was captured. 1 In '-Ml b.c. Capua 
was retaken. From the 1 year 210 \n'. the Romans, under 

'With the fall of Syracuse, in which the greal scientist Archimedes 
was killed, we may regard the independence <>f (lie Hellenic city-states 

of the W'Vsl :is ended. There .ire ,i few olhers, such as M.tssilia in 

('..•ml, which still remained free; hut they play no r61e in western pol- 
it ics after t his i ime. 



HANNIBAL JX ITALY 200 

an able young general named Publius Cornelius Scipio, 
began to make headway against the Carthaginian armies 
in Spain. 

Hasdrubal, brother of Hannibal, had had charge of the 
Carthaginian administration in Spain. In 207 b. c, he ap- 
peared in northern [taly with a large army, hoping to join 
Hannibal and bring the war to an issue. Mi- messen- 
gers to Hannibal were captured, and the two Roman consuls 
united their armies and annihilated the Carthaginian reen- 
forcements in a battle on the Metaurus River. The Etonians 
cut off the head of Hasdrubal, who was slain in the battle, 
carried it back to the camp of Hannibal in Apulia, and 
threw it over among his outposts. This cruel me old 

Hannibal of his brother's defeat, and the failure of his life- 
long hop'- of conquering Rome. 

377. The Invasion of Africa, 204 B. C. - For the year 204 
b. c, Publius Cornelius Scipio, the ablesl general who had 
appeared on the Etonian side during the war, was chosen 
consul. This was a reward for his services to the state in 
conquering the Carthaginian forces in Spain. The plan of 
Scipio was to end the war by attacking Carthage itself, and 
accordingly he sailed across to Africa in the year 201 b.c. 

The Carthaginian state recalled Hannibal from Italy to 
conduct the defense of his native city. LFpon the return 
trij>, his youngest brother Mago died of the wound.-, he had 
received in a recent battle; and of the ''Lion'- Brood" only 
Hannibal remained to see the defeat of Hamilcar'e project 
againsl Etome. In 202 b.c. he suffered his first defeat in 
the battle of Zama. Even his genius could not win against 
troops superior in numbers and quality, led by such a 
capable general as Scipio. 

In 201 b. (;., Carthage agreed to accept the Etonian condi- 
tions of peace. She was to pay 10,000 talents in yearly in- 

tllments of 200 talents for fifty to give up all 

1 .V- t}io talent was a weight containing about as much silver as 
1,080 dollars would contain, the entire sun bout 111,000,000 in 

silver Bui this amount of silver would purchase far more in antiq- 
uity than the same amount in our 'lay. 



300 



THE STORY OF ROME 



her war elephants, and all her ships but ten. Spain had 
a heady been lost, and now was definitely ceded to Rome. 
Carthage agreed to wage no war without the consent of 
Rome. Rome's African ally, Masinissa, king of Numidia, 
was given additional territory taken from Carthage; and he 
was set to watch every movement of the Punic city, and 
report to Rome 

378. Results and Importance of the War. — By this treat} 
Carthage was eliminated from the list of the great Mediter- 




SCALE OF MILES 



800 -100 000 soo 
0° 10 



The Mediterranean Powers \t the End ok tmk Second Punic War, 1200 b. c. 



ranean states. Spain was soon joined to the Roman state 
in the form of two provinces; but it was not fully con- 
quered until seventy years had passed. Rome was clearly 
absolute mistress in the West. In the politics of the world 
of that time, she stood beside the kingdoms of Macedon, 
Syria, and Egypt, as a growing and dangerous rival. In 
the politics of Illyria and western Greece, the protection or 
alliance of Rome was already a help worth having. Her 
relations with the kingdom of Egypt were friendly. Events 



HANNIBAL IN ITALY 301 

were soon to prove that no one of the Eastern powers could 
equal or approach in strength this young giant in the West. 

The failure of Hannibal's attempt to break Rome's power 
was chiefly due to the unwavering loyalty of the Latin and 
Italian allies of Rome. They felt instinctively that the 
Oriental civilization of Carthage was foreign to them, that 
Rome was their natural leader. It was the old struggle of 
the East against the West. Although some of their cities 
had joined Hannibal, the Greeks of Italy and Sicily shared 
the feeling of the Italians. The leadership and protection 
of this Greek civilization was now the destiny of Rome 

379. Hannibal's End. — After the close of the war, Han- 
nibal set to work energetically to reorganize the state of 
Carthage. He was so successful that the Roman Senate 
was frightened, and forced the Carthaginians to drive him 
from their city. From 196 to 183 b.c, he lived at the 
courts of King Antiochus of Syria and Prusias of Bithynia, 
always intent upon his vow of eternal hatred toward Rome. 
The King of Bithynia finally agreed to surrender him to the 
Roman officers, but he escaped the vengeance of Rome at 
the last by taking poison, in the year 183 b.c. In one 
sense his life was a failure. Yet we must honor and admire 
him for his genius, for his loyalty to his state, and his con- 
sistent pursuit of the thing he believed in, his lifelong 
devotion to the hope of obtaining revenge upon Rome. 

References for Outside Reading 

Botsford, The Story of Borne, pp. L22-126; Munro, Source Hook, 
pp. 84-92; Plutarch, Lives of Fabius and Marcellos; Seignobos, Ancient 
Cnilization, pp. 233-213; Pelham, Outlines of Homo,, History, pp. 
122-183; W. W. How, Hannibal, eh. 3-8; How and Leigh, History of 
Rome, ch. 19-22; Shuckburtfh, History of Rome, eh. 20, 22-2.",; Smith, 
Carthage and the Carthaginians, ch. 9-18. 

Topics for Written or Oral Report 

1. Hannibal's Passage of the Alps. —Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 

115-118; Munro, Source Book, pp. 85-88; Polybius, Book III, 
49-56; Livy, Book XXI, 32-38. 

2. How Fabius the Delayer Fought Hannibal. — Munro, Source 

Book, pp. 87-88; Plutarch, Fabius. 



302 THE STORY OF ROME 

3. The Battle at the Trasimene Lake. — Botsford, Story of Rome, 

pp. 119-122; Livy, Hook XXII, 4-6; Polybius, Book [11,79-86. 

4. The Capture of Syracuse. Plutarch, Life of Marcellus. 

5. Anecdotes of Eannibal. - Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, 

pp. 337-345. 




CHAPTER XXVIII 
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 

380. How the Senate was Composed. — In the Roman re- 
public there were three bodies actively engaged in making 
the laws by which the state was governed, the Senate, the 
Centuriate Assembly, and the Tribal Assembly. In the 
time of the kings and the early republic, the senators were 
chosen from the heads of the noble families. 'Flic Senate's 
membership, of about 300, was kept up by the consuls, who 
appointed new men to the places made vacant by the death 
of any of the senators. This appointment 

was for life, and a senator could only be 
removed on proof that his character was 
bad. 

By the time of the Punic Wars, the right 
of appointing the new senators had passed 
from the consuls to the censors, who selected The Curule 
enough new men every five years out of those ^omanCoin^ 
who had meantime held the "curule" 1 offices 
(of consul, praetor, and patrician sedile) to keep the Senate 
up to its normal strength. 

381. The Old Patrician and the New Plebeian Aristoc- 
racy. — By a series of enactments in the century before the 
Punic wars, the plebeians became eligible to these curule 
offices, but, for several reasons, the Senate did not become 
more democratic through the plebeians who rose through the 
curule offices and gained senatorial seats. It must be re- 
membered that the Roman officials received no salary, nor 

*The "curule" magistrates were those officials who had the righl to 
use a particular kind of chair, called the curule chair. It was usually 
made of ivory, richly carved, and in the form of a camp-stool. The 
curule chair was a token of the highest official power in the Roman 

state. 

303 



304 THE STORY OF ROME 

were the members of the Senate paid, as the magistrates 
and members of the Boule in the Greek city-states were. 
Hence it was not easy for men of the lower ranks to go into 
politics. Only the very wealthy plebeians could afford this, 
and they soon began to form an aristocracy of their own, 
which combined with the old Roman patrician families in 
order to guard the privileges of the senators from intrusion 
by the poorer plebeians. The " political ring " of the patri- 
cian senators was merely increased in size by the addition 
of this new aristocracy of wealth. From this group of 
families in these two circles the higher magistrates were 
chosen, and they combined in using all their influence against 
any " new man " of the people who might be ambitious for 
one of the higher offices, which would give him admission to 
the Senate. 

The senatorial aristocracy claimed certain rights and priv- 
ileges which distinguished its members from the middle and 
lower classes at Rome. Only families of senatorial rank had 
the right to set up in the home wax masks of the family 
ancestors. The senators wore broad gold rings upon their 
fingers, and an especial kind of sandal buckled with an ivory 
clasp. A law passed in 194 b. c. granted to the members of 
the senatorial order special seats in the theater and at the 
public games. Ever among the boys this undemocratic 
spirit was fostered; ior the sons of senators were marked 
from those of the commons by the golden brooch which they 
wore suspended around the neck. 

382. Composition of the Assemblies. — The membership of 
the Centuriate Assembly and of the Tribal ^Assembly was 
the same, namely, the body of the Roman citizens. The 
difference between them was chiefly one of organization, 
arrangement, and of the kind of business transacted by 
each. The Centuriate Assembly had been organized in the 
early republic by classes, according to the financial standing 
of the citizens. In this arrangement the two upper classes 
had a majority of the centuries, and could pass any law 
and elect officers without considering the desires of the 
lower classes. 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 305 

In the Tribal Assembly the citizens met and voted by 
tribes, of which there were thirty-five at the time of the 
Punic Wars. This organization was much more democratic 
than the Centuriate, although the latter was gradually 
altered during the third century so as to give the lower 
classes a better chance. It remained, however, the more 
aristocratic of the two bodies. 

383. Duties of the Assemblies. — The Roman state had no 
written constitution which defined the powers of its magis- 
trates, and the duties which should fall to each of the two 
assemblies. These matters were determined by custom, 
and the two law-making bodies divided the work of legisla- 
tion without serious difficulty. 

In the early period of the Republic all the laws which 
were brought up in the Senate were passed over to the Cen- 
turiate Assembly to be accepted or rejected by the people. 
As time passed, the Tribal Assembly took over the greater 
part of the business of law-making, especially after the 
Hortensian Law was passed. To it were referred all the 
land reforms, those motions which dealt with the estab- 
lishing of Roman colonies, the laws which aimed at restrain- 
ing luxury, matters which touched upon the government of 
the provinces, and treaties made with foreign states. The 
Centuriate Assembly, however, retained the right to declare 
war. 

Once a year at meetings of the two Assemblies the 
Roman people elected their magistrates. The consuls, 
praetors and censors were chosen in the Centuriate Assembly; 
the tribunes, plebeian sediles, 1 and lower magistrates were 
elected in the Tribal Assembly. The fact that the Roman 
people met in these two organizations, when one assembly 
could have transacted all the business, is explained by the 
conservatism of the Romans. When they had once estab- 
lished the Tribal Assembly as the people's organization, 

*Of the four sediles, two were elected from the plebs and two from 
the ranks of the patricians. The latter held the privilege of sitting 
on the curule chair. Their duties were about the same as those of the 
plebeian aediles. 



306 



THE STORY OF ROME 



they could not drop it, nor were they willing to abandon the 
older Assembly by Centuries even when the Tribal Assembly 
had taken over the Larger share of the powers of Legislation. 
384. How Business was Conducted in the Centuriate As- 
sembly. — When a meeting of the Centuriate Assembly was 
to be called, the magistrate who was empowered to summon 

it published an edict twenty- 
four days beforehand, stating 
the date and business of the 
meeting. In case of an ('lee- 
lion, a list of the candidates 
was posted; in case a Law was 
to be approved, the wording of 
thelaw wasgiven. Shortly after 
midnight of the appointed day, 
a priest took the auspices to 
determine whether or no the 
gods willed that the meeting 
should be held. If the signs 
were not favorable, the post- 
ponement of the meeting was 
published with the words " On 
another day." Even after the 
meetinghad begun, the presiding 
official might postpone it incase 

Bronmd Statue of a Roman Oratob nny unlucky event occurred. 
of \i«m r 200 b.c. aii i ' e 

A sudden downpour 01 ram, a 

crash of thunder, or the occurrence 4 of an epileptic lit among 
the assembled voters might put astop to all business upon 
that day. 

If the auspices were 1 good the people met outside 4 the city 
walls on the Field of Mars (Campus Martins); for the Cen- 
turiate Assembly had originally been military in its char- 
acter, :md therefore was not permitted to meet within the 
sacred enclosure oi' tin 4 city. First a general meeting was 
held which was opened with a prayer. Then the ma,i2;is- 
trates made speeches to the voters, stating the purpose of 
the meeting. Sometimes they allowed private citizens to 




THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 307 

speak for or against the law upon which the vote was to be 
taken. 

When this genera] meeting was over the citizens separated 
into their respective centuries and cast their votes. Each 
century had its own inclosure fenced off from the rest. As 
the voters passed out through a narrow passageway, called 
"the bridge," they announced their decision to the election 
officials. These officials look note of the "ayes" and "nays." 
In case of elections they made dots after the names of the 
candidate voted for, on the list which they find. 1 After the 
votes had been counted and the result announced, the As- 
sembly was dismissed. 

385. The Senate. The Senate did not meet at a fixed 
time, but was called together when needed, by the consuls, 
by the praetors, or by the tribunes. The magistrate who 
summoned the meeting acted as its presiding officer and 
presented the business on hand to the Senate with the words: 
"We rch'r this matter to you, Conscript Fathers, in order 
that you may decide what may be good and auspicious for 
the Roman people." When lie had stated the business, he 
called for debate from the senators. These arose as their 
opinion- were called for, and gave their views. They had 
the righi of suggesting other matters to the presiding officer 
in these speeches, and of requesting that they be put before 
the Senate at another time. Thus Cato during a number 
of years, whenever tie rose to give his opinion, brought irito 
big speech the demand thai Carthage should be destroyed. 

The vote was taken by a division of the house, those vot- 
ing for a motion going to one side of the room, those voting 
againsl it going to the other. A motion which received the 
support of a majority of those present was declared a <\<-<-r<><> 
of the Senate, and was later inscribed upon a stone or bronze 
slab, a copy of which was kept in the temple of Saturn. 

386. Work of the Senate. — The questions which were pre- 
sented to the Senate and voted upon in the manner jusl 

1 After L39 b. c. the voting was done by ballot. The meetings of 
the Tribal Assembly were conducted very much as those of the Cen- 
turiate Assembly, except that they were held within the city 



308 THE stoky ov ROME 

described were oi many different kinds. They may be 
summed up in three different classes: 

1. The State Religion. When now temples wore to be built 
or old ones restored, when the question arose oi introducing into 
the state a now religion, or oi stopping some worship which 
seemed bad for the state, the Senate decided the manor. 

2. The State Finances. Some oi the great expenses oi the 
Roman state were incurred in waging wars, in constructing 
roads and public buildings, and in providing games and fes- 
tivals for the people. In all such manors, and in every other 
case where money was to bo paid out oi the state treasury, the 
vote oi the Senate was necessary before it could bo done. In 
this control oi the purse strings oi the state lay the chief source 
oi the Senate's power. 

The financial officials oi the Roman state were the censors 
and quaestors, The censors had charge oi the renting oi the 
stato lands, sold at auction the right to collect taxes, and lot 
the contracts for public buildings oi every kind. The quaestors 
were the accountants oi the stato. receiving and paying out all 
the stato money and keeping the records in order. In all these 
transactions the censors and qusestors were mere agents oi the 
Senate, carrying out its orders and sending in their accounts 
for its approval. 

3. Foreign Policies and War. The Centuriate assembly hail 
the right to declare war and make peace; but all the prepara- 
tions for war were made by the Senate. When a war was com- 
pleted the Senate usually sent out a committee oi ton oi its 
members with instructions as to the terms which should bo 
granted to the enemy. Thus the Senate's influence was 
strong in dealing with foreign peoples, and in such mat tors the 
Assemblies merely voted upon the Senate's decisions. 

387. Why the Senate's Power Grew. — In the years of con- 
quest extending from 287 to L33 b.c. the Senate's power 
was so great that the Roman " republic " was in fact an 
aristocracy, ruled by its patrician nobles and wealthy ple- 
beians. The democratic features oi the constitution, the 
popular Assemblies and election oi the magistrates, were re- 
tained: Inn the guidance of the stato was almost entirely 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 309 

given over to the Senate. This was due to a number of 

causes, o( which the following were the most important: 

1. During the Punic Wars the best of the Roman citizen- 
body was in the field, fighting for the preservation o\' the slate. 
Many important questions had to be decided immediately, and 
the Senate grew accustomed to acting upon its own judgment 
without referring matters to the Assemblies. 

2. When Koine became involved in the politics of Greece 
and the East, the people found that their knowledge of foreign 
countries and foreign politics was not great. They preferred 
to accept the decision o( the Senate upon those matters. 

;>. The Senate was much better qualified to deal with im- 
portant affairs than the Assemblies, because it was tilled up 
from the list of the ex-magistrates. Those had Learned by prac- 
tical experience, while serving as state officials, what were the 
needs o'i the State and how to moot thoso needs. Most of the 
citi/ens in t lit- Assemblies had had no such experience. 

1. Since the Roman people did not use the modern system of 
sending representatives to their Assemblies, only that pari of 
the citizen-body could vote which attended in person. Usually 

only thoso who lived in or near Rome could he present, and tin 1 
citizens in the Italian towns and Roman colonies placed more 
reliance upon the Senate than upon the Assemblies filled with 
t he city population. 

388. The Senate and the Provinces. — In the years of con- 
quest from 287 to loo b.c, the seven following provinces 
wort 4 added to the territory governed by the Roman Senate: 

Sicily in 2 1 l B. C. Africa in 146 B. C. 

Sardinia-Corsica in 238 b. c. Macedonia (including Greece) 

Hither Spain 1 . nrki in 146 B. c. 

_ ', . } in 201 b. c. . . , . . ... . , n 

Farther Spain I Asia (the old Kingdom ot rer- 

gamum) in 133 b. c. 

When Sicily was taken, the question of its government 
brought an entirely new problem before the Roman Senate. 
For t hi" Romans had never before been forced to deal with 
the government of any people outside of Italy, whom they 
could not reach with their roads and hind closely to the 



310 THE STORY OF ROME 

city of Rome. When the Senate established Sicily as one 
province and combined Sardinia and Corsica into a second, 
the form of government then instituted became the model 
for all the provinces which were added later. 

When these first two provinces were organized, the num- 
ber of the praetors was increased to four, of whom two were 
chosen by lot each year to govern these provinces in the 
name of the Roman people. During his year in office the 
power of the provincial governor was absolute. He was 
commander-in-chief of the armies in the province, supreme 
judge, and executive head of the provincial administration. 
A quaestor was sent with him who kept account of the 
finances, but he was in every way subordinate to the gov- 
ernor. The provincials were required to pay an annual 
tribute to Rome, which distinguished them from the Italian 
allies, who paid no tribute. The provincials were therefore 
regarded as subjects of the state, and their territory came 
to be looked upon as the common property, or " estates" of 
the Roman people. 

389. Weaknesses of the System. — Although the Senate at 
first had the best interests of the provincials in mind, the 
Roman provincial rule soon changed into an organized 
scheme of oppression and robbery on the part of the gov- 
ernors. The change was due, in part, to the following 
weaknesses of the system of government: 

1. The term of office of the praetor was, regularly, only a 
year, and in this time the governor could not learn the real 
needs of the province or develop the feeling of sympathy for 
the provincials which might have grown in him if he had 
remained longer. 

2. There was no way in which a dishonest governor could 
be removed from office during his term of service, either by the 
Senate or by the provincials. If the latter appealed to the 
Senate at Rome after the governor's term expired, the governor 
was seldom punished, since he was a member of the Senate 
and had powerful connections at Rome. 

3. The governors received no pay, but were supported dur- 
ing their term by the provincials. This fact encouraged the 



THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 311 

Roman officials to extort from the provincials the money 
which they would need, when they should return home, to 
keep up their social position among the wealthy senators at 
Rome. 

390. Taxation in the Provinces. — The greatest weakness, 
however, and the cause of the bitterest oppression of the 
provincial subjects, grew out of the Roman method of col- 
lecting its taxes, which was somewhat like the system which 
modern states employ in erecting public buildings. Our 
states do not have a regular building department, but let 
out contracts to the lowest bidder. The contracting firm 
then saves what it can under the terms of the contract. In 
much the same way the Roman censors let out for each prov- 
ince to the highest bidder, usually a company of wealthy 
men, the right to collect the tribute in that province. 

This system was called " tax-farming " and the agents 
who collected the taxes were called " publicans." For the 
Roman government tax-farming had certain distinct advan- 
tages. It relieved the state of the necessity of maintaining 
a large body of officials to look after the work, and it was 
easy to determine at the beginning of the year how much 
would be on hand to meet the expenses of running the state. 

391. How the Provincials were Robbed. — From the stand- 
point of the provincials, the tax-farming system was not so 
good. In most of the provinces the taxes upon property 
were taken " in kind," that is, a certain percentage of the 
crops was collected instead of money. The Senate, of 
course, determined what percentage must be paid as taxes. 
Frequently, however, the powerful publicans exacted much 
more than the law allowed them. Often they stole the 
children of the provincials, and carried them away to the 
cities to sell them into slavery. When the provincials ap- 
pealed to the governor, they usually found that bribes re- 
ceived from the wealthy publicans had closed his eyes to 
justice. 

The law which required that the provincials should con- 
tribute grain and " table-money " for the support of the 



312 rut: STOR? OF ROME 

governor and his staff made possible a multitude of petty 
robberies. It was easy for the praetors, under the cover of 
this law, to exact from their subjects costly and beautiful 
vases and articles of gold and silver with which to decorate 
their houses at Homo. 

392, Court to Try Extortion Cases. 14$ B. C. These 
abuses and the dishonesty of the governors became so fla- 
grant that a special court was established in the year I 19 B, e. 
to try cases of extortion which wore brought against them. 
This event marks the first important step in the develop- 
ment of the Roman legal system, which was. in the centuries 
after Christ's birth, to give to the world the most complete 
system oi legal justice that it had yet seen. Hut the new 
•' Standing Court ' had the great drawback that it was 
entirely made up from the senatorial ranks. The members 
of the court were loth to convict the governors, men ot 
their own rank, since many in the court had already been 
guilty, when serving as provincial governors, of the same 
dishonesty and Injustice, or hoped to amass fortunes later 
by the same dishonest means. 

There were, of course, among the many governors whom 
Home sent out in the first hundred years after tier provincial 
system was established, many honest and capable men. It 
was especially after the defeat of Perseus [168 B, e.\ when a 
new desire for luxury had altered the Roman spirit, that 
the Roman rule was eharaeteri/ed by Ignorance, bru- 
tality, and dishonesty. Until the time when Julius Csesar, 
in IS B.C., made himself absolute master of the Roman 
state, no important change was made. The plui 
of the provinces by the privileged classes at Home grew bo 
be a terrible scourge upon the Roman subjects, and it was 
not ended until the rule of the senatorial aristocracy brok 
down and was replaced by the better organization of the 
Roman Empire, 

References for Outside Reading 

v v '•. 7: Bo s ' • - 127-136; 

Seij s i s 

H - v U H22 : \ 






THE GOVERNMENT OF THE ROMAN STATE 313 

lions, pp. 63-80, 220-266; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, Book 111, 
oh. '^. r&ylor, Constitutional <"<</ Political History of Rome, ch. 7-10; 
I low and Leigh, History of Rome, pp. 298-302, 310-316. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Tuk Income \\i> Expenditures >>i hik. Republic, raylor, 

Political <///(/ Constitutional History, pp. 188-197. 

2. The Hi in-- ok v Roman Censob as Carried ot r bi Cato 

Plutarch, Life of Cato, oh. 16-20. 

3. A Comparison ok ras lumw Senate with tuk United States 

Sen vii' \i>iu>tt. Society and Politics n< Ancient Rome, pp. 22-40. 

4. The Powers am> D\ riEs of the Prjbtor. Abbott, Roman 

Political Institutions, pp. iSo-P.H). 



CHAPTER XXIX 

RAPID EASTWARD EXPANSION AND THE 
HELLENIZING OF ROME 

393. The Attitude of Rome toward the Eastern States. — 

During the time of the Punic Wars in the West (264-201 
b. c), the Achaean and vEtolian Leagues were developing in 
Greece. The kingdom of Macedon was attempting to bring 
all of Greece and the iEgean Islands under its sway. Egypt 
and Syria were continuing the old struggle for possession of 
the Phoenician coast and Palestine. It was at this juncture 
that Rome appeared as a factor in Eastern politics. 

The utter defeat and humiliation of Carthage raised the 
confidence and pride of the Roman state to a high pitch. 
One must not think that the Roman Senate, which had 
charge of the conduct of affairs with foreign states, set out 
to destroy all the great kingdoms at the eastern end of the 
Mediterranean. The Senate did wish, however, to hinder 
the growth of a single great empire, such as Alexander had 
formed, since one consolidated empire would most cer- 
tainly have endangered Rome's influence in the East. Ac- 
cordingly, the policy of the Senate w T as to ally Rome with 
the weakest of the three great eastern states, Egypt, against 
any attempt on the part of the two strongest, Macedon and 
Syria, to increase their territory. 

The smaller states of the East, the free state of Rhodes 
and the kingdom of Pergamum, were glad to find in Rome 
a protector against the ambitious designs of Philip V of 
Macedon, and Antiochus III of Syria. Philip seemed the 
most dangerous rival of Rome because he was the nearest. 
When Rome punished the Ulyrian pirates and made some 
of the Greek cities her allies, Philip felt that the Macedonian 
leadership in Greek affairs was being endangered. It was 

314 



RAPID EASTWARD EXPANSION 315 

for this reason that he allied himself with Hannibal after the 
battle of Cannae. 

394. The Wars with Macedon and Syria. — When Philip 
and Antiochus, in 202 b. c, took advantage of the weakness 
of Egypt to increase their territory, Rome was appealed to 
by four of her allies, Athens, Pergamum, Rhodes, and 
Egypt. As Philip would not cease his aggressions, the Ro- 
man Senate and Assembly declared war upon him in 200 b. c. 
After the utter defeat of Philip in 197 b. c, at the battle 
near Cynoscephalse (the " Dog's Heads "), in Thessaly, 
Rome took no territory in Greece. The Greek states which 
Macedon had been ruling were declared to be "free," with- 
out garrison or tribute, in full enjoyment of the laws of 
their respective countries. 

Although the statesmen of Rome sincerely meant this, the 
affairs of Greece were so complicated that Rome was forced 
to take a hand in directing them, and in a short time the 
necessity of giving the last decision in Greek politics became 
a habit. Antiochus of Syria saw an opportunity of extending 
his own power, by appearing as the arbiter in Greek affairs. 
Some of the Greek states preferred to look to him, a prince 
descended from the old Macedonian nobility, rather than to 
Rome, as their protector. When Antiochus sent his troops 
into Greece and laid hold upon some cities which Rome had 
declared free, the Roman Senate was forced to declare war 
upon him, too. Even after Antiochus was driven out of 
Greece and signally beaten in Asia Minor at the battle of 
Magnesia (190 B.C.), Rome took no territory either in 
Greece or in Asia Minor. Her policy was still that of freeing 
the Greek cities and strengthening the weaker states, 
Rhodes, Egypt, and Pergamum, at the expense of Syria. 

395. Last War with Macedon, 171-168 B. C. — Step by 

step the Roman habit of intervening in Greek politics and 

directing the affairs of the city-states grew. At the same 

time Rome began to appear to many of the Greeks as an 

oppressor rather than as a friend. Consequently when 

King Perseus, the successor of Philip of Macedon, prepared 

for a war against Rome, he claimed to be the champion 
21 



316 THE STORY OF ROME 

of the Greek interests against Roman intervention. At the 
battle of Pydna (108 b. c.) he was conquered by the Roman 
consul, Lucius iEmilius Paulus. Macedon was broken 
up into four republics, and ceased to exist as a kingdom 
and as a power in Greek politics. King Perseus himself 
was taken to Rome as a prisoner, and walked through 
the streets of the city in the triumphal procession which the 
Senate granted to Paulus. Before him walked his three 
children, two young princes and a princess of the ancient 
line of Macedon's nobles. A few years later Perseus died 
in imprisonment. 

396. Triumph of .ffimilius Paulus. — The triumph granted 
by the Senate was purely a Roman custom, a combination 
of religious thanksgiving to the gods and a military cele- 
bration of a great victory. Before a campaign, the general 
in command offered up a prayer to Jupiter Optimus Max- 
imus in his temple upon the Capitoline hill. It was thought 
to be the sacred duty of the general after the war was ended, 
if the Senate considered his victory of enough moment, to 
march in festal procession through the city up the Capi- 
toline hill, give thanks to the same god, and dedicate to 
him a pari of the booty. 

Plutarch, in his life of JEmilius Paulus, has left us a de- 
scription of his triumph. It gives a singular picture out of 
the life of that time. Just as they do nowadays on the 
occasion of gieat parades, "the people erected scaffolds 
in all parts of the city which were convenient for seeing the 
procession; and on the day of the procession they were all 
dressed in white. The temples were set open, adorned 
with garlands, and smoking with incense. Many lictors 
and other officers compelled the disorderly crowd to make 
way. and open a clear passage." 

On the first day the statues and paintings, which were 
taken from the enemy, were carried past in 250 wagons. On 
the second, the finest of the Macedonian armor and standards 
were drawn along, loaded on many wagons. Behind these 
u walked three thousand men who carried the silver money 
in 750 vessels, each borne by four men. Others brought 



RAPID EASTWARD EXPANSION 



317 



bowls, horns, goblets, and cups, all of silver, disposed in 
such order as would make the best show." 

The third was the great day. Behind the trumpeters 
who led the procession came " 120 fat oxen with their horns 
gilded and set off with garlands and ribbons. After them 
came the boys who carried the gold and silver vessels for 
the sacrifices. Next went the persons that carried the gold 




Booty op Wab Cabbied in a Roman Tbiumphal Pbocession. 

Relief from the Arch of the Emperor Titus. It .-how- the Seven-branched 
Candelabrum taken in the Capture of Jerusalem, 70 a. d. 



coin in vessels to the number of seventy-seven." It was 
in this procession that Perseus and his children walked. 
The conqueror, Paulus, rode " in a magnificent chariot, 
his fine bearing now set off with a purple robe interwoven 
with gold." It was said that when the royal children passed 
by, many of the spectators wept from pity at their fate. 

397. The Change in the Roman Attitude. — Even before 
the war with Perseus the feeling at Rome toward Greece 
and the Eastern states had begun to change. When the 
decisions of the Roman Senate began to be regarded as the 
(anal word in the politics of Greece, Pergamum, Rhodes, and 



318 THE STORY OF ROME 

Egypt, Roman merchants had followed her statesmen 
eastward, and found there a luxurious style of living which 
excited their greed. 

Rome could no longer claim to be the protector of Greek 
liberty; for her merchants saw in Rome's influence in the 
East only an opportunity to make money, and thus terrible 
abuse of her power began. The Roman army, too, had 
become eager for booty. After the defeat of Perseus, 
seventy of the cities of Epirus were given over to the 
soldiers to plunder, on the order of the Roman Senate, after 
all the gold and silver ware had been taken for the state. 

The sight of so much gold and silver, the wealth of Mace- 
don and Epirus, in the triumphal procession of Paulus, 
seemed to win the Roman populace over to this policy of 
greed. From this time on the thought of the Roman state 
was bent upon conquest for the sake of adding territory 
and new tribute-paying subjects to the state, for the sake 
of the money to be made there by her wealthy men, for the 
sake of booty for her soldiers and glory for her generals. 

398. The Results of the New Policy. — The next victim 
of this policy of destruction was Rhodes. This free state 
was not powerful, and could never be a menace to Rome; 
but her commerce in the Mediterranean was large. This 
fact aroused the avarice of the Roman merchant class, and 
on a mere pretext the territory of Rhodes, which had al- 
ways been a faithful ally of Rome, was seized, and measures 
taken by which within a few years, Rhodes was robbed of 
her trade, the basis of her wealth and prosperity. 

In Greece matters went from bad to worse. The little 
city-states fought useless and bloody wars with one another. 
The Roman Senate was appealed to time and again, now 
by one party, now by the other. In Macedon the division 
into four separate states had indeed so weakened the country 
that Rome had no cause to fear it ; but it had brought only 
confusion and trouble in Macedon itself. 

Hatred against Rome grew strong in Greece until, in 146 
b. a, Rome was forced to declare war against the Achaean 
League. The defeat of the Achaeans was sudden and com- 



RAPID EASTWARD EXPANSION 319 

plete. In this year Macedon was made into a province of 
Rome, and the Roman governor took charge also of the 
affairs of Greece as its protector. Although free in name, the 
Greeks paid tribute to Rome. Corinth, which had been 
the center of the revolt, was utterly destroyed, by order of 
the Roman Senate (146 b. a), and its citizens were cut down 
or sold as slaves. The beautiful city itself was first plun- 
dered, then burned to the ground. This crime against a 
civilized and wealthy city, one of the finest of the ancient 
world, was chiefly due to the hatred of Roman capitalists 
for Corinth because it was one of their chief competitors 
in the Eastern trade. 

399. The Cause of the Third War with Carthage, 149-146 
B.'C. — The same inexcusable greed was the cause of the 
Third Punic War. After the Second Punic War, in spite of 
the restrictions and hindrances which the treaty put in the 
path of Carthage, the Punic city prospered again as a trade 
center. Under the protection of Rome, Masinissa, the 
king of Numidia, continually harassed the fated city. When 
the Carthaginian ambassadors who were sent to Rome could 
get neither help nor protection, they entered upon a de- 
fensive war against the Numidian. 

The Roman Senate chose to look upon this action as a 
breach of the treaty of 201 b. c, which expressly seated that 
Carthage could wage no war without its consent. The 
Carthaginians were forced to submit to Rome's terms to 
avoid a war which meant their utter ruin. When Rome's 
ambassadors came to Africa, the Senate had given them 
secret orders that the city was to be destroyed ; for there had 
long been a party in the Senate, backed by Rome's merchants, 
who had advocated this infamous act. It is said that 
Marcus Porcius Cato used to end all his speeches in the 
Senate with this remark: "And I think, too, that Carthage 
ought to be destroyed." 

400. The Destruction of Carthage, 146 B. C. — When the 
Carthaginians had given up their arms, their war elephants, 
and their ships, the Roman ambassadors announced that 
they must leave the city and settle some place ten miles 



320 THE STORY OF ROME 

back from the sea. By this means the Roman capitalists 
intended to ruin Carthage as a rival port. 

This outrage and trickery inflamed the Carthaginians 
to such a pitch that the women of the city cut off their hair 
to make bow-strings for the catapults, and old and young 
united in a determination to fight to the death. For two 
years the Romans besieged the city in vain; but in 147 b. c, 
they put Publius Cornelius Scipio, 1 the son of L. iEmilius 
Paulus, in command. Though he was opposed to this 
inhuman policy of his state, as commander-in-chief he obeyed 
the Senate's orders. After repeated and desperate assaults, 
when the remaining inhabitants were weakened by hunger, 
the city was taken. Out of this stately and beautiful city of 
over 300,000 inhabitants, no more than 50,000 lived to be 
sold into slavery. For seventeen days the city burned. Then 
Scipio leveled its ruins, and guided the plough over the 
place where the walls had stood, to signify that the place 
was accursed and should never again rise from its ruins 
(146 b. a). The territory about Carthage was then added to 
the Roman domain as the province of Africa. 

401. The Power of Rome is Extended into Asia, 133 B. C. 
— The year 146 b. c. is one of the decisive dates in the his- 
tory of the Mediterranean states. It marks (1) the end 
of Carthage and the destruction of Corinth; (2) the for- 
mation of the provinces of Macedon and Africa; and (3) the 
date at which the free Greek states were eliminated as 
factors in Mediterranean politics, and Greek history becomes 
only a subordinate part of the history of the Roman state. 

In 133 b. c. the Roman Senate took another step which 
is important in its bearing upon the territorial expansion of 
the state. In this year the king of Pergamum died, and 
Roman officials from the East laid before the Senate a will 
of the dead ruler, which bequeathed his riches and his king- 
dom to Rome. No one knows to-day whether it was forged 
or true; but the Senate accepted the bequest, and formed out 
of it the province of Asia. Bithynia, Pontus, Cappadocia, 

*He was the nephew and, by adoption, the grandson of Scipio 
Africanus. 



RAPID EASTWARD EXPANSION 



321 



and Armenia, Asiatic states with Greek culture, became half 
dependent upon Rome. It was only a question of time 
until Rome should wish to spread over Asia, too, wherever 




Extent of the Roman Possessions in 133 b. c. 

the Greek civilization had spread ; for Rome had become the 
sole great power in the world whose culture was thoroughly 
Hellenic. 

References for Outside Heading 

Plutarch, Flamininus, JEmilius Paulus; Abbott, Short History of 
Rome, pp. 100-113; Smith, Carthage and the Carthaginians, ch. 20; 
How and Leigh, History of Rome, ch. 24-27; Shuckburgh, History of 
Rome, ch. 28-32; Mommsen, History of Rome, Book 3 (vol. II), ch. 
8-10; Mahaffy, Alexander's Empire, ch. 27-31. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1 . Flamininus at the Isthmean Games. — Plutarch, Life of Flamininus. 

2. Polybius' Friendship for and Estimate of Scipio the Younger. 

— Polybius, Book XXXII, ch. 9-15; (in Botsford, Story of 
Rome, pp. 144-150). 

3. Popilius Laenas and the Embassy to Antiochus IV of Syria. — 

Livy, XLV, ch. 10-12. 



CHAPTER XXX 
THE CHANGE IN ROMAN LIFE 

402. Early Roman Literature. — The Romans were not 
by nature a people gifted, as the Greeks were, in expressing 
their thoughts well in poetry, or in carving beautiful statues 
in stone. They were, as the oldest forms of their religion 
prove, a practical farming people. Their early days handed 
down to future times no great epic poems, such as the Iliad 
and the Odyssey of the Hellenes. Their lives were filled 
with hard fighting and sober thought upon matters affecting 
the state. 

They had, of course, their old songs, connected with the 
practical needs of life, especially with their religion. These 
were prayers and songs of thanksgiving to the gods, set in 
crude verse forms. Neither these, nor the annals of the 
priest, nor the records kept by the noble families of the deeds 
of their ancestors, could be regarded as good literature. 

403. The Beginning of the Greek Influence. — In the third 
century b. c, in the war with Pyrrhus, with Tarentum, and 
with Carthage, the Romans were brought into contact 
with the great Mediterranean world. The culture of this 
world was the cosmopolitan, Creek culture, which had 
spread so rapidly after Alexander's conquests. Its language 
was the "common" Creek dialect which had become the 
general tongue used among all civilized peoples, although the 
native languages were still used in the different countries. 

When Rome conquered the Greek cities of Italy and 
added Sicily to her provinces, it was essential that Rome's 
statesmen should understand and speak Creek. Many 
of the senators, in the time following the Second Punic 
War, not only spoke the language, but they were thor- 
oughly imbued with Creek refinement and education. 
Among these were the Scipios, the conqueror of Hannibal 

322 



THE CHANGE IN ROMAN LIFE 323 

and the destroyer of Carthage; Flamininus, who con- 
quered Philip of Macedon; and yEmilius Paulus, the victor 
over Perseus. As the Roman armies were sent into Sicily 
and into Greece the soldiers, too, picked up the language. 
The Roman merchants, who now began to travel into foreign 
lands, also learned it, and the slaves who were now coming 
into Italy in great numbers were, most of them, native 
Greeks. Thus the knowledge of the speech of the Hel- 
lenistic world, and the appreciation of its higher civilization, 
spread even among the lower classes at Rome and in Italy. 

404. Introduction of the Greek Drama. — When Tarentum 
fell in 272 b. c, a young Greek prisoner was brought back to 
Rome as a slave and used as tutor to the children of his 
noble master. When he was freed by his master he called 
himself " Lucius Livius " Andronicus, the last being his 
real Greek name. He started a school at Rome, and in his 
work as teacher translated into Latin the Odyssey, which 
was used as a school-book in the Greek schools. 

In the year 240 b. c, the " Roman Games " were cele- 
brated with particular pomp because of the fortunate ending 
of the First Punic War. The sediles, who were directing the 
games, permitted the exhibition of two Greek plays, a 
comedy and a tragedy. Livius Andronicus was asked to 
translate them into Latin. This event was the beginning 
of dramatic performances in Rome, and, with the translation 
of the Odyssey, it marks the beginning of a Latin literature. 
There was nothing distinctively Roman about it. It was 
the Greek literature transplanted to Rome. 

405. The Comedies of Plautus, (B. C. 250-184). — During 
the Second Punic War an Umbrian named Plautus began 
to adapt Greek comedies for the Roman stage. At that 
time the New Comedy of Menander of Athens was delight- 
ing the Greek audiences in Syracuse and Tarentum. So 
it was Menander's plays which Plautus re-wrote in Latin 
and sold to the Roman aediles for public exhibition. 

Twenty of the plays of Plautus have come down to us. 
The scene is always laid in Athens, or in some other Greek 
city; and the comedies satirize the typical figures of the 



324 



THE STORY OF KOMH 



speare s 

Errors. 




Scene from a Roman Comedy. 
From a Mosaic at Naples. 



Athenian streets in the days after Alexander. There is 

the wealthy father who is devoted to his son; the miserly 

father; the son who is in love with some slave girl; the sly 

slave who helps the son in his love-affairs and fools his 

father. Usually the 

slave-girl proves to 

be some well-born 

young woman who 

has been stolen when 

she was a child, so 

that the love-affair 

turns out well. 

Plautus' comedy of 

t h e twin-brothers, 

the MentBchmij was 

the model for Shake- 
Comedy of 
The miser 
of The 

Money-Pot of Plautus was imitated by the great 
French comedy-writer, Moliere, in his play called 
The Avaricious Man. This is a good example 
of the greatest service which Rome did for 
the world, in adopting Greek civilization and 
its literature, and handing down Greek works 
to mediaeval and modern times, to serve as 
models and to give inspiration to later 
writers. 

406. Terence (died 159 B.C.). — Terence was 

from Carthage, who was 
his childhood as a slave. 
He, too, translated Greek comedies into Latin, 
and seven of these have come down to us. They 
have less that is Roman in them than the com- 
edies of Plautus; for Terence kept even the Greek titles of 

the plays. 

The Athenian life which is shown in these plays of the 

New Comedy was very immoral. To the stern Romans 




TeKK v COTT v 

Statuette 
Representing 
the Slave 
Type in Greek 
Comedy. 



an African, possibly 
brought to Rome in 



THE CHANGE IX ROMAN LIFE 325 

its saucy and intriguing slaves were unknown in real life, 
because they ruled their slaves with an iron hand. The 
loose family ties and the whole moral tone were something 
new and strange at Rome. The easy and joyous life of the 
immoral Greek cities seemed much more attractive; to the 
Romans than the sober, rather Puritanical discipline of their 
own state. Consequently the Greek Comedy had a greal 
influence upon them. While it broadened them and set 
the refined Greek world and its ideas before their eyes, it 
also tended to break down the old Roman purity of family 
life. 

407. Greek Slaves as Teachers. — In many other ways 
the " hellenizing " of Rome went rapidly forward, bringing 
the good and evil side by side. The introduction of Greek 
slaves as teachers for the children of the noble Romans, 
which occurred before the Punic Wars, was one of the chief 
reasons for the change. Before the Punic Wars the educa- 
tion of Roman children had been quite elementary. The 
ability to read and write, to do simple sums in arithmetic — 
this was about all that was required. The chief text-book 
used was the Laws of the Twelve Tables, which the Roman 
pupil learned by heart. 

The new position which Rome took in the great world 
after 250 b. c. made it necessary for her citizens to become 
cultured men. To talk with Greek gentlemen, the Romans 
needed to know something about literature and history. 
It would have been natural for them to study the works 
of their own great writers had there been any. Since there 
were none, the Greek masterpieces were introduced — Homer, 
and the dramas of Sophocles and Euripides. Greek was 
taught to children, and as a necessary preparation for the 
study of literature, Latin and Greek grammar were placed 
among the elementary subjects of instruction. 

408. The Change in Religion. — The introduction of 
Greek literature and its ideas had a profound effect upon 
the Roman religious teachings. The mythological stories 
of the Hellenes made the Greek gods seem so much brighter 
and more beautiful than the practical, every-day Roman 



326 



THE STORY OF ROME 



deities, that the Romans were carried away by their (.'harm. 
The Roman gods began to be identified with the Greek, 

Jupiter was said to be the same as Zeus, Juno the same as 
Hera. Neptune, the god oi springs and rivers, was Poseidon, 
the Greek god of the ocean, and his realm was widened to in- 
clude the ocean. Venus became the goddess of love, like the 
Greek Aphrodite. The stories about the gods oi the Hel- 
lenes were transferred to the Roman deities, too. Among 
these were tales of immoral actions as well as good deeds. 
In this way the purity of the Roman religion suffered at the 
same time that it gained in charm. 

The Greek literature which the Romans began to read 
was. oi course, that which was popular in t ho Hellenistic 
world after Alexander's time (about 300 100 B, C.)« The 
dramas of Euripides, with their attacks upon the immoral 
and foolish side oi the Greek religion, and the romance of 
Euhemerus attacking the belief in the gods, were translated 
into Latin and widely read. This brought into Italy the 

Greek unbelief and religious doubt 

of that time. The effect upon the 

Roman polytheism was to weaken its 

hold upon the people much more 

quickly even than had been the ease 

R'jfjy-'-' *1 r*T! hi Greece. 

K\\Ew^^*M^S During the First Punic War a 

^ — TT-r— — rr- notable example oi this change in 

religious spirit appears. In 249 B. C, 
Publius Claudius, who was one of 
the consuls in command oi the 
Roman fleet off northwestern Sicily, wished to give battle to 
the Punic fleet in the harbor of Drepanum. When the advice 
of the gods was sought, as was the usual custom before a 
battle, the sacred chickens refused to eat the com thrown in 
to them, and the priests declared that the gods advised them 
against fighting. Claudius was angry and ordered the 
chickens thrown into the sea. ' If they will not eat, let 
them drink." he said. He suffered a great defeat, which 
the more religious of the Romans attributed to his sacrilege. 




rvKlNG IBB AtTSPICSS FROM 

the Sacred Chickens. 



THE CHANGE IN ROMAN LIFE :i27 

409. The Introduction of New Cults and the Opposition. 
When the Greek religious ideas began to influence Rome, 
a number of the Oriental forms of worship crept in along with 
the Greek religious views. In 220 b. c, when the Senate saw 
thai the wild orgies of the Asiatic religions were quietly being 
introduced by slaves from the East, they tried to pul a stop to 
the worship of the Egyptian deities, Isis and Serapis, by 
destroying their temple 

Among the foreign practices that were introduced was 
the Greek worship of Bacchus, in which drunkenness and 
great excesses prevailed. At last the Senate was forced 
to step in and forbid the worship, and punish with death a 
number who practiced it. We have still a copy of the 
decree of the Roman Senate, passed in the year 180 b. <:., 
and inscribed upon a bronze tablet. The first paragraphs 
read thus: 

Quintue Marcius, son of Lucius, and Spuriue Postumius, 
of Lucius, the consuls, called the Senate together upon the 
Nones [the seventh] of October in the temple of Bellona [god- 
dess of war]. Marcus Claudius, sou of Marcus, Lucius Valeri 
son of Publius, Quintus Minucius, son of Gaius, were witneg 
when the decree wag inscribed. The Senate made the following 
decision affecting the alii'.'.- in regard to the Bacchanalian 
festival: 

"Let no one wish to hold the Bacchanalia. If there are any 
who say that their religious convictions make H necessary to 
hold these rites, they must come to the city praetor at Rome, 
30 that their cases may be heard and our Senate decide upon 
it. No less than 100 senators must be present when the matter 
is iroted on." 

Other provisions followed which were intended to sup- 
press the worship, excepting where special permission was 
granted, and only then to congregations numbering less 
than six. All those who worshipped in secret were to be 
punished with death. Despite this and similar laws against 
foreign worships, many new religions kept creeping into 
Italy and Rome, to aid in breaking down the old belief. 

410. The Effect Upon the Position of Women.— In the 



328 THE STORY OF ROME 

early days of Rome the women were highly respected by 
their husbands, and we have many stories to illustrate the 
nobility of their character. Yet they had no rights at all 
under the Roman law. When a woman was married, her hus- 
band had absolute control of herself and her property, could 
punish her, even with death, and dispose of her property in 
his will. Divorce was a thing unheard of. 

The old attitude toward women suffered a great change 
under the broadening influence of the Greek ideas. In 
Hellenistic times women had played a great role in the 
politics of the kingdoms ruled by Alexander's successors. 
The first time that we see the definite results of this at 
Rome is in the year 195 b. c. During the Second Punic 
War a law had been passed forbidding women to wear more 
than half an ounce of gold, to appear in gay dresses, or ride 
in chariots. In 195 b. c. the women demanded the repeal 
of this law. They went so far as to stand in the streets 
about the Forum, where the matter was being voted on, 
and tried to make the men promise to vote down the 
objectionable law. Their influence brought about its 
repeal. 

Very soon the former ideas about a woman's subjection 
to her husband seemed old-fashioned. Women began 
to have money in their own right and to receive in- 
heritances. The emancipation of women was making 
progress. 

411. Effects Upon Family Life. — While all these changes 
were taking place, the old purity of Roman family life was 
sadly weakened, and the simplicity of the Roman mode of 
living gave way to luxury. The Roman matrons of wealthy 
families no longer looked after the cooking, but bought slaves 
whose special duty was to prepare fine dishes. Fine silver 
plate became fashionable in the houses of the wealthy, as 
well as richly embroidered carpets, and fine imported dresses 
for the women. 

With the growth in luxury came other things which may 
unquestionably be considered as evils. Divorce became 
common. Many of the young Romans preferred to live 



THE CHANGE IN ROMAN LIFE 329 

as bachelors rather than to marry and take the responsi- 
bility of rearing families, unless they could marry into 
a family of wealth. Thus Roman life lost and gained 
when it came under the influence of the outside world, 
lost in simplicity and purity what it gained in breadth of view. 

412. Cato and the Opposition. — Men were not lacking 
at Rome who saw that their fatherland was undergoing a 
fundamental change. Among those was Cato the Elder 
(234-149 b. a). Born of poor parents, he worked his way 
up through all the grades of the state offices. Throughout 
his life he fought against the growing Hellenistic influence. 
He affected the simple life of the old days of Rome. "He 
himself says that he never wore a suit of clothes that cost 
more than a hundred drachmas, 1 and that, when he was 
general and consul, he drank the same wine which his 
workmen did." 

He used all his influence against the growing luxury in 
living. As censor he caused a heavy tax to be set on house- 
hold furniture, dresses, and carriages of very costly work- 
manship. Yet Cato himself was not able to go counter 
to all the tendencies of the day. For example, he himself 
taught his own son to read and write, and educated him 
in grammar and in law, as Roman fathers had done in the 
old days; but he allowed a slave in his household, a good 
grammarian named Chilo, to earn money for him by teach- 
ing other Roman children. Cato ridiculed Greek philos- 
ophy, and when Greek philosophers came to the city 
and charmed the Roman youth with their lectures, he had 
them sent away as quickly as possible. 

This hard-headed, hard-fisted statesman was quite right 
in his belief that the new Greek ideas and the Greek litera- 
ture would destroy the real national life of Rome and Italy; 
for Rome, too, was destined to become Hellenic and spread 
its Hellenic-Roman civilization through the west of Europe. 
Against this movement, Cato, in speech and by his laws, 
worked in vain. 

*A drachma was equal to about eighteen cents. 



330 



THE STOItt OF HOME 



References for Outside Reading 

Botsford, Story of Rome, pp, 136-140, 150-158; Munro, Source Book 
of h\ nan Histo . pp. 93 LOO; Plutarch, Lives of JZmilius Paulus, 
. Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 195 198, 262 *J7;>; 
How and Leigh, H s of Rome, ch. 30; Shuckburgh, History of lu>»n-, 
pp. 517 521; Abbott, History of Rome, pp. L22 L31; Mommsen, History 
of Rome, Hook III. ch, 13; Mahaffy, M<roihl<r's Empire, ch, 32. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Roman Taste fob Music Botsford, Story of tio>nt\ pp, 

L39-1 H>. 

2. Cato's \on\ir\ vs Cbnsor. Munro. Soura Book, pp. 95-97; 

Plutarch, Life of Marcus i a o,' Botsford, Story o/ Rome, p. 100. 

3. rHE Roman Women i\ Politics, 195 B.C. Livy, Book XXXIV, 

ch. l-S; Abbott. Society and Politics in Ana I te, pp. 15-53, 



CHAPTEB XXXI 
THE GRACCHI IND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 

413. Change in Agricultural Conditions in Italy. The 
territorial expansion of Rome in the < ■■ ri and w< ich 
ended wit h the year L33 b c, brought with it a great change 
in the conditions of living in Italy. From the earK 
times of the republic, the small farmers had been forced to 
fight against the growth of large e 4 :' r in the hand- of 
the senatorial nobility. This fight against the monopoly 
of farming land by a made harder for the poor 
farmers during the Second Punic War; for i1 the middle 
class of Roman and Italian farmers which furnished the 
bulk of the armies of the Roman republic. While tin 
men w upon campaigns their farms irere . r :o* 
well cared for. Thus, many of the small farmer* 
forced to borrow money from the w< ownei ol . 

and the mortgaged farm -.oon v/onf. to incroas': 
the acres of wealthier neighbors. I 
after the provinces of Spain were formed, th 
compelled to maintain large armies there; and t> of 

the distance and the cosl of transporting i 
term oi uded to six y< hi. 

thi the policy of conquest entered up< 

helped to make it impossible for the small farmers to hold 
their own against the land-greed of the wealthy. 

414. Effect of Importation of Grain from the Province! 
After 3 had become a Roman province, many of the 

oatorial nobles, wrho were as a class forbidden by law to 
engage in tax-farming or trade, began to invest their mou 
in large tracts in Sicily. T found that they could 
ship grain to Rome and the other Italian cities and sell it 
there more cheaply than the Italian gran -old. and still 

make a good profit. Thig practice of importing grain 

■>■> i 



332 



THE STORY OF ROME 




Ax Italian Ploughman. 



increased the hardship of the small farmers. They could 
no more compete on equal terms with the owners ot the ex- 
tensive grain fields in Sicily, than a small factory or small store 
to-day can compete successfully with great manufacturing 
combinations, or with our large department stores. 

The owners of the great estates in Italy did not suffer from 
the importation of grain as the poorer farmers did. They 
found that cattle-raising was a very profitable way of using 

their great Italian es- 
tates; for a few cheap 
and unintelligent slaves 
could care for large 
herds of cattle, so that 
the cost of labor on the 
ranges was small. In 
this way cattle-grazing 
on large ranges took the 
place of the small farm- 
ing which had been the 
basis of Italian life, and had filled the Roman armies with 
free and sturdy tillers of the soil. The peasants turned 
into professional soldiers or moved to the cities, especially 
to Rome, to swell its increasing numbers of restless poor. 
415. Increase in the Slave Traffic. — The number of cap- 
tives taken by the Romans in the Second Punic War in 
Spain, Sicily, and Africa was great. Most of these came 
into Italy as slaves. The wars in Greece from 201 to 146 
b. c. yielded an even greater number, as the following 
statement of Plutarch in his life of iEmilius Paulus will show: 

The Senate had made a decree that the soldiers who had 
fought under him against Perseus should have the spoil of 
the cities of Epirus. In order, therefore, that they might 
fall upon them unexpectedly, Paulus sent for ten of the 
principal inhabitants of each city, and fixed a day for them 
to bring in whatever silver and gold could be found in their 
cities and temples. But when the day came the Roman 
soldiers rushed upon all the inhabitants, and began to seize 



THE GRACCHI AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 333 



and plunder thorn. Thus in one hour 150,000 persons were 
mado .slaves and seventy cities sacked. 

To these must be added the great numbers who were 
captured at the taking of Corinth and Carthage in 140 b. c, 
and the young children stolen by pirates in the East and 
sold by the regular dealers in slav 

416. The Result in Italy. — The slaves used as field hands 
.and herdsmen in Italy were worked to the limit of human 
endurance and fed as cheaply and simply as possible. 1 
The free laborer, who had to be paid for his services, was no 
longer wanted. This was an additional cause of the dis- 
appearance of the Italian farming class; for the free man who 
was forced to sell his farm could not even 
obtain work on the large estal 

The introduction of masses of slaves 
brought about a decrease in the population 
of Italy, because the owners did not en- 
courage their slaves to marry and raise 
families. It was cheaper to buy full grown 
slaves from the dealers than to raise them 
from childhood. At the same time the 
families of the poorer classes of free men 
were becoming smaller because the poor 
could no longer afford to raise many chil- 
dren. The growing indulgence and love of 
luxury among the higher classes made them, too, unwilling 
to have the care of supporting a large household of children. 
On every side, therefore, the size of the Roman families began 
to decrease. Yet the city of Rome continued to grow in pop- 
ulation because of the many who poured into it from the 
country districts of Italy and from foreign lands. 

417. Tiberius Gracchus. — There were men among the 
Roman nobles who were aware of the poverty of the lower 
classes, and looked with dread upon the decrease in the num- 

1 Cato the Censor wrote a book in which he tells, in a manner which 
seems to us brutal and inhuman, how to get the best results from slaves 
on the least money. 
22 




A Roman Field 

. VE. 



334 THE STORY OF ROME 

ber of the peasants. They seemed afraid, however, to 
attack the wealthy capitalists of the Senate; or else they 
thought that the situation was incurable. Conditions 
therefore remained unchanged until, in the year 133 b. c, 
a young man became tribune of the plebs, who burned with 
an honest zeal to help his country, and thought that his 
greatest opportunity of service lay in reviving the diminish- 
ing class of small farmers. This was Tiberius Sempronius 
Gracchus, whose mother, Cornelia, was the daughter of 
Scipio Africanus. 

Cornelia was of the best type of Roman matron, mentally 
gifted and of strong character. She herself conducted the 
early training of her son Tiberius and his younger brother 
Oaius, and gave them later the advantage of a broad edu- 
cation under the best Greek rhetoricians and philosophers 
of that day. Her pride in her sons was great. Once when 
a Roman matron called upon her and proudly showed her 
jewels, Cornelia sent for her two boys, saying, " These are 
my jewels." 

418. Land Law Passed in the Tribuneship of Tiberius 
Gracchus. — The reason which drove Tiberius Gracchus to 
undertake the reform of social evils is told by Plutarch. 
" His brother Gaius said in a book which he wrote, that 
when Tiberius was going through Etruria into Spain, he saw 
the deserted condition of the country, and that the free 
farmers and herdsmen had been displaced by imported 
slaves and barbarians." Then first the impulse to lead the 
reforms came to him. 

To increase the number of the free farmers it was neces- 
sary that land be given out to the poorer citizens in small 
holdings. The method which Tiberius employed to get this 
land was one which caused strong opposition in senatorial 
circles. As tribune, Tiberius proposed a law in the Tribal 
Assembly, providing that the rich estate-owners should be 
deprived of all the state land which they had usurped, except- 
ing 500 "jugera." 1 A man with sons, however, might hold 

*A jugerum is about equal to two-thirds of an acre. 



THE GRACCHI \.\I) THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 335 

250 "jugera" for one son and the same amount for a second 
son; but the maximum holding of state domain should be 
1,000 "jugera." The proposal was quite just, inasmuch as 
the land really belonged to the state. The large trac^ that 
were thus reclaimed by the state were to be parceled out 
to poorer citizens in farms which probably did not exceed 
thirty acres each. 

419. Opposition of Octavius and Death of Gracchus. — 
To the capitalists who for generations had used the public 
lands as their own, this law seemed an attack upon their 
lawful rights. The opposition found in Octavius, a fellow- 
tribune and friend of Gracchus, a man who would fight for 
their interests. As often as the law was proposed before 
the people, Octavius shouted his veto. At last Tiberius 
was driven to extreme measures to carry the legislation 
which he desired. He arose before the assembly and pro- 
posed that Octavius be ejected from his office because he 
acted contrary to the interests of the sovereign people. 
The motion was passed, Octavius was removed from the 
Assembly, and the measure of Tiberius Gracchus became 
a law. A commission of three was appointed to do the work 
of confiscating and parceling the lands. 

When he deposed Octavius, Tiberius took a step which 
was quite contrary to the Roman laws and custom; for no 
Roman official, least of all the sacred tribune, could be 
deprived of his office. Threats were made against the life 
of Tiberius, and he felt that he must again win the tribune- 
ship, or fall a victim to the glowing hatred of the senators. 
Reelection to this office was also a new idea, and contrary to 
the Roman custom. Upon the day of the elections for the 
year 132 b. c, there was rioting at the polls between the 
friends and opponents of Gracchus. Finally a large troop of 
senators, who regarded Tiberius as a dangerous enemy to 
their order and to the state, marched from the Senate house 
and attacked his supporters with clubs. In the struggle 
Gracchus and 300 of his followers were beaten to death. 

420. Gaius Gracchus Elected Tribune, 123 B. C. — The early 
and violent death of Tiberius Gracchus does not mean that 



336 THE STORY OF ROME 

he failed entirely in his mission. A great deal was done 
by the land commission in distributing the state domain 
before the Senate dared to stop the work. Yet the measures 
introduced by Tiberius could bring only temporary relief, 
and could not shake off the powerful grasp of the senatorial 
ring upon the machinery of government. 

In 124 b. c, the younger Gracchus, called Gaius, returned 
to Rome from Sardinia, where he had spent a year as quaes- 
tor. To him the people had been looking for leadership 
in the struggle begun by his brother against the Senate. 
He was endowed with youth, energy, and passionate elo- 
quence, gifts which were needed in a popular leader. He 
longed to avenge his brother's death, and at the same time 
serve the cause of the poor. Both of these ends he hoped to 
reach by breaking the Senate's power. Therefore he entered 
the campaign for the tribuneship of the year 123 b. c, 
and was elected against the strongest opposition which the 
Senate could make. 

421. Grain Laws Help to Break the Senate's Hold Upon 
the Poorer Classes. — Gaius Gracchus saw that a successful 
leader of the democratic movement which his brother had 
begun must have a more solid and dependable support than 
was afforded by the poorer citizens alone. He therefore 
tried to build up a party which should combine against the 
Senate the votes of the lower classes in the assemblies with 
the influence and wealth of the middle class, the knights. Be- 
tween the death of Tiberius and the election of Gaius in 
123 b. c, a law had been passed which permitted the re- 
election of the tribunes. This made it possible for the 
democratic leader, if he could retain his hold upon the 
popular favor, to continue in office for several years, 
and thus have time to develop and carry out his reform 
measures. 

The poorer citizens had been bound to the patrician 
nobles as clients, because the latter supplied them with their 
chief pleasure, the gladiatorial shows, and supported them 
when they were destitute. In order to free the people from 
this dependence, Gaius Gracchus proposed and passed a 



THE GRACCHI AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY 337 

law that grain should be sold by the state each month to 
the people at one-half the market price. Thus the people 
themselves in the Tribal Assembly seemed to take the place 
of the senatorial nobility as benefactors of the poor. In 
after years this law of the " grain-doles " proved harmful 
to the state. For it was abused by those who tried to gain 
the good will and the votes of the people by promising them 
cheaper and cheaper grain. The result was that a class of 
lazy poor was developed at Rome, who expected and de- 
manded support from the state. 

422. How Gaius Gained the Support of the Knights. — 
The wealthy Romans who were not of senatorial rank were 
won over to the support of Gracchus' schemes by a law passed 
by the Tribal Assembly, which allowed the contracts for 
collecting the taxes of the new province of Asia to be let 
out by the censors at Rome. Since the senators could not 
legally engage in tax-farming, all this vast business, with its 
opportunities of honest and dishonest gain, was thrown open 
to the Roman knights. 

Not so much to gain the support of the knights as to 
weaken the Senate, Gaius had the Tribal Assembly pass a 
law which gave the control of the jury courts over to the 
knights. Formerly all the members of the courts had been 
of senatorial rank; and the inability to convict thieving pro- 
vincial governors and other senatorial rascals in these courts 
surely warranted a change in the system. 

423. His Social Reforms. — During his two years as 
tribune — for he was reelected to the tribuneship for the 
year 122 b. c. — Gaius Gracchus passed several other laws 
designed to benefit the people. Through one of these, the 
period of military service demanded of the citizens was les- 
sened. He continued the policy of Tiberius of giving land 
in small allotments to citizens. He established colonies 
in lower Italy, attempting to bring back some of its old 
prosperity to that wasted section. By the new roads which 
he caused to be built, he hoped to revive the farming and 
other industries of Italy. 

Under his influence also the Tribal Assembly passed a law 



338 nil'. STOR? OF ROME 

permitting a colon)- to be established upon the oKl site of 
Carthago. None of these laws aroused so much opposition 
as a proposal which ho made to extend the full rights of 
Roman citizenship to the Latins, and the partial rights held 
by the Latins to the other Italian allies. 

424. Gracchus Loses Popularity: His Death. — This last 
measure was the one which reflects the greatest credit 
upon the statesmanship oi Gains Gracchus. The Latin 
allies had long chafed under the unequal distribution of 
their burdens and privileges as members of the Roman 
state. The state needed them as full citizens, and Gracchus 
merely proposed to give them t ho rights which they gained 
forty years later through the suffering and bloodshed o( a 
civil war. The populace oi Rome, however, was jealous 
of its citizen privileges, and too selfish to share with the 
Latins the right to the grain-doles and the enjoyment of 
the public games. Their opposition forced Gracchus to 
drop this plan and gave the nobility a chance to turn the 
people against him. 

While Gracchus was absent in Africa arranging for the 
colony at Carthage, the senatorial party were busy ruining 
his popularity. They hired the people away from him by 
promising them many new colonies in Italy — promises 
which they did not intend to fulfill, and could not fulfill. 
As a result, Gracchus was defeated for the third term of the 
tribuneship which he was seeking. In the rioting which 
accompanied this election, the Senate declared Gracchus and 
his followers outlaws, and the consul with the armed senators 
at his back marched upon the supporters of Gains. Three 
thousand of the party of Gracchus were killed in tin 4 streets 
of Rome, and Gains saved himself from murder at the 
hands of his enemies by committing suicide. For the 
next twenty years the people's party lacked a great leader, 
and the Senate returned to its old control of the affairs of 
state. 

425. Results of the Gracchan Movement. — The agitation 
started by Tiberius Gracchus, and carried on by Gains, 
was intended to better the condition of the lower classes 



THE GRACCHI AND THE DEMOCRATIC PART* 339 

of the people Their work, however, brought about po- 
litical changes in the Roman state, the end of which the 
Gracchi themselves could not foresee. The immediate 
results have been given above. The following results were 
more enduring in their consequences, and therefore far 
more important: 

1. Breaking of the Senate's Control. While the Gracchi were; 
active as tribunes, the control of the state was shifted from the 
Senate, with the consuls as its administrative officials, to the 
Tribal Assembly under the leadership of the tribunes. This is 
seen in the laws passed by the Assembly during this time. 
The Senate.' had formerly passed all laws which involved ex- 
penditures out of the state treasury. In passing the grain 
laws the Assembly took this power into its own hands; for the 
grain was bought and sold at a loss to the state. In voting 
to establish colonies in Italy and Africa, the Assembly inter- 
fered with the control of the provinces, which had formerly 
been left to the Senate's judgment. The law which provide 1 
that the taxes of Asia were to be farmed at Rome interfered 
with the Senate's former power, both over the provinces and 
over the state treasury. For the time being, the people, led 
by the Gracchi, assumed the leadership so long held by the 
Senate. 

2. Social Conditions Brought Before the People. The speeches 
of the Gracchi awakened the minds of the people to their 
powerless position in the state, to the absolute control of the 
Senate, and to the Senate's abuse of that control. 

3. Formation of the Democratic Party. By joining the knights 
with the people, Gaius Gracchus formed the democratic party. 
The combination was strong enough to oppose the Senate 
successfully whenever it could find a courageous and capable 
leader. Upon this popular party, with its platform of opposi- 
tion to the rule of the Senate, and its control through the 
tribunate, Julius Ca>sar seventy years later built up hi.- one 
man rule of the Roman state. The work of the Gracchi there- 
fore, little as they suspected it at the time, was to organize 
and set in motion the forces which overthrew the Roman 
" Republic." 



340 THE STORY OF ROME 

References for Outside Reading 

Botsford, S R pp. L59-171; Munro, Source Boofc, pp. 

104-114: Plutarch's Lives s s - Abbott, 

S H s :. pp. 143-148; Oman. S s 

eh. 1-4: Shuckburgh, His 15 Beesly, 

S h. 1-3: lYlham. 5 of Roman History, pp. 

'J01-'J14: Taylor. Constitutional H s R . pp. 

237—260; How and Leigh, H s . ch, 33-34: Greenidge, 

ch. 2-4. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Roman Si wkky and the Slave War in Sicily. — Greenidge, 

His . vol. 1. pp. 81-100; Mommsen, History ofR 

in ch. 2 and ch. 4 of Book IV. 

2. Farming in Ancient Italy. — Preston and Dodge. P 

s, ch, 5. 

3. Plow Tiberius Gracchus Deposed the Tribune Octavius, — 

Plutarch, 7' j C s, ch. 10-12; Botsford. Story of R 

pp. 163-4. 

4. Omens \no Death of Tiberius Gracchus. — Plutarch, 

(7" s ch. 16-19. 

5. Death of Gaius Gracchus. — Plutarch, Gaius Gro - ch 15-17 



CHAPTER XXXII 

THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE POPULAR AND SENA- 
TORIAL PARTIES CONTINUES 

426. The Senate Regains Control. By the death of 

Gains Gracchus, the popular party was deprived of its 
leader, and cowed into submission. The Gracchi had 
shown that, through the Tribal Assembly and the tribunes, 
the people themselves might rule the state; but for the next fif- 
teen years this lesson seemed lost. The Senate again assumed 
control and matters went on in the old way. the tribunes not 
daring to oppose the will oi the senatorial leaders. The war 
with Jugurtha, king of Numidia, brought a new democratic 
leader to the front in the person of Gains Marius, and again 
showed the weakness and depravity of the senatorial rule. 

427. The Jugurthine War, 112-105 B. C— In 118 B. c. 
Jugurtha came to the throne of Numidia in northern Africa, 
sharing the power with his two cousins. He was a man of 
powerful build, a great hunter, well trained in the Roman 
camps in Spain, and tilled with an endless ambition. He 
soon brought about the murder of one cousin, and laid plans 
to destroy the other. 

The Roman Senate had an interest in the affairs of Nu- 
midia and was in a position to dictate to its kings. The 
commissions which they sent out to inquire into the com- 
plaints about Jugurtha's high handed actions, were bribed 
with great gifts to make reports favorable to Jugurtha. At 
last, emboldened by the lack of energy shown by the Roman 
Senate, and contrary to its commands, he laid siege to 
Cirta, the capital of his cousin's kingdom, took the city, 
tortured his cousin to death, and slew all the Italian mer- 
chants who lived there. 

By this event the Roman Senate was forced to declare 
war upon Jugurtha. but its armies accomplished little 



342 THE STORY OF ROME 

against the wary African. The rumor spread among the 
people at Rome that the Senate and the commanding officers 

had been bribed. In 110 B. c, Jugurtha was asked to come 
to the city and testify before the people upon the question 
of bribery of the commissions and generals. When Ju- 
gurtha appeared before the Assembly, a tribune, who was 
acting in the interest of the senatorial party, forbade him 
to speak. Thus the Senate was able to put a stop to the 
investigation. 

Jugurtha improved his time in Rome by having a pre- 
tender to his throne put out of the way by murder — yet 
he escaped scot-free from the city. It is reported that he 
looked back upon Rome as he was leaving and said: " A 
city for sale and destined soon to perish, whenever a buyer 
can be found." 

428. Rise of Marius the Plebeian. — The Jugurthine war 
was now carried on with greater vigor, but without greater 
success; for the discipline of the army was demoralized and 
the generals corrupt. In 108 B. c, Gains Marius, who was 
serving as an officer with the Roman army in Africa, was 
elected consul, and given charge of the war for the year 
107 B. C. He was a rough, plain soldier, son of a day- 
laborer. Ht 5aw that the feeling aroused by the Senate's 
misconduct 01 the war was strong, ami gained his high office 
and command of the war by criticizing the senatorial leaders 
of the army, thus gaining the good will of the people. By 
this means he became the strongest man of the popular 
party anil leader of their opposition to the senatorial party. 

In 100 b. c, Jugurtha was betrayed to a young Roman 
general, an aristocrat named Sulla, who was serving under 
Marius. He was taken a prisoner to Rome and walked in 
the triumph of the consul Marius. When thrust into the 
cold dungeon which served as the death-chamber of Roman 
state prisoners, whence no one ever re-appeared, he cried 
out. •' Oh. what a cold bath." 

The aristocracy tried to make light of Marius' success in 
the war. claiming that Sulla had captured Jugurtha: but 
they could not destroy the people's admiration for their 



THE POPULAB AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 343 




A GbbU v\ W Uiuioii, 



Qew-found leader. The hatred then engendered in Marius 
towards the senatorial aristocracy and its favorite, Sulla, 
was destined in later years to bring woe upon the city of 
Homo. 

429. The Danger of the German Invasion.- The enthu- 
siasm for Marius was kept glowing by his able management 
o( a dangerous invasion which, for the time being, caused 
the struggles of the parties to be for- 
gotten. In L13 b. c, a great band of 
tall and light-haired warriors, the Cim- 
bri, had appeared in Gaul, moving 
irresistibly forward out of the unknown 
forests of Germany. Joined by the tribes 
of the Teutons, they moved about 
Gaul, defeating, with terrific slaughter, 
the Roman commanders sent against 
them. At last the people could no 
longer stand the incompetence of the 
aristocratic generals who led t heir armies. 

To meet the danger from the Cimbri and Teutons, Marius 
was elected consul for the second time, in the year 104 
B. c, and reelected for the next four years. 

Roth the reelection in 104 b. c, and the continued holding 
of the office by one man, were contrary to the Roman law. 
Marius proved, however, that the people were justified 
in their faith in him. At Aquae Scxtia* in lower Gaul he 
defeated the Teutons, in the year L02 b. c, in a battle which 
caused the utter annihilation of the German horde. The 
following year he met the Cimbri in the To Valley, and 
showed the superiority of the Roman tactics and arms over 
the savage strength of the Germans by destroying their 
band utterly. 

430. Meaning of the Career of Marius. — Under the old 
system o( the Roman government the commanders-in-chief 
of the armies, that is the consuls, changed each year. The 
repeated elections of Marius show that the Roman people 
had come to the conclusion that the old system was not 
adequate in the face of so great a danger as the invasion 



344 THE STORY OF ROME 

of the Cimbri and Teutons. The state must have its ablest 
general in command continuously until the peril was over, 
and the unconstitutional reelection of Marius made this 
possible. 

The reelections of Marius also taught the politicians 
of Rome what power one man could attain if he could hold 
his popularity with the citizens and, through their votes, 
keep control of the armies of the state. This lesson became 
later a great factor in the overthrow of the senatorial 
republic. For the one-man rule of Julius Caesar, like the 
unusual power of Marius, was founded upon the backing of 
the armies, combined with the votes of the rabble of 
Rome. 

431. The Political Defeat of Marius, 100 B. C— The 
growing neglect of the constitutional customs appears 
clearly in the events of the year 100 b. c, through which 
Marius lost his political power and his position at one blow. 
Since the time of the Gracchi, the program of the democratic 
party had been to pass grain laws and to obtain grants of land 
for the poor. In the year 100 b. c, a democratic agitator, 
a tribune named Saturninus, was advocating these measures 
together with a demand for colonies in which the veterans 
of Marius' army were to be placed. The methods which 
Saturninus and his followers used were so violent and 
contrary to law, that the knights were frightened, withdrew 
from their connection with the democratic leaders, and 
joined the senatorial party. When Saturninus seized the 
capitol, the Senate passed a decree which forced Marius, 
then consul, to attack his oM friends. In the fight which 
resulted, Saturninus, who was holding the sacred office of 
tribune of the Roman people, and a praetor were slain. 
The event shows how respect for the magistrates had 
declined, and how near the republic was to its end. Marius, 
hated by the senatorial party and distrusted by the popular 
party which he had betrayed, was forced to retire from his 
public career. 

432. The Attempted Reforms of Livius Drusus, 91 B. C. — 
Ever since Gaius Gracchus had made his proposal that the 



THE POPULAR AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 345 

Italian allies should share in the rights of Roman citizenship, 
the allies had been discontented. Their only hope, as they 
well knew, lay with the democratic party. Every pro- 
posal which looked toward such a reform was beaten by the 
Senate. In the ten years following the downfall of Marius, 
the new alliance of the knights with the senatorial party 
had increased the oppression of Roman rule in the provinces; 
for the senatorial governors now combined with the tax- 
farmers to rob the provincials to the utmost limit. 

In 91 b. c, Livius Drusus, a young man of senatorial 
rank and aristocratic lineage, appeared as a reformer, 
hoping through the tribuneship to correct many abuses, 
but, most of all, the two just mentioned. Since the courts 
were comprised of knights who would not punish the tax- 
farmers when they were accused of extortion, Drusus thought 
that he must change the jury-courts so that they should 
include both senators and knights. 

There was no doubt that the Roman assemblies had lost 
much of their dignity and importance. Drusus hoped to 
put new and vigorous blood into the assemblies, as well 
as to satisfy the discontent of the Italians, by admitting 
them to citizenship. This last proposal gave rise to the 
greatest bitterness against the noble young tribune. He 
was accused of treason, of aspiring to the kingship, and was 
felled by the dagger of an assassin. His proposals were 
then either dropped or annulled. 

433. The War of the Allies (Social War), 90-88 B. C— The 
death of Drusus, their champion, was the signal for a revolt 
of the Italian allies, headed by the strongest members of the 
Roman state in central and southern Italy, the Marsians, 
Samnites, and Lucanians. They felt that their military 
duties were too heavy. For service in the Roman cavalry 
was a great financial burden to the well-to-do, and the levies 
of infantry from the poorer classes were large. Despite 
this burden of military service, the Italians did not share 
in the booty taken in war, or in the cheap grain sold by the 
government. They determined, therefore, to form a govern- 
ment of their own. 




346 THE STORY OF ROME 

In the first year of the war (90 b. a), the result of the fight- 
ing was unfavorable to Rome, although Sulla was acting 
as an officer on the staff of one of the consuls, and Marius with 

the other. Although 
^MftSll^ Marius displayed his 
usual keenness and 
generalship in these 

Leaden Bullet Used by a Slinger in the War of • ■, 

the allies. campaigns, he was 

Written upon it is: "Feri Pomp(eium)," i. e., "Hit forced to retire ill 
Pompey," referring to Pompeius Strabo, Consul of the (iisornce at the end 
year S9 b. c, and Father of Pompey the Great. & . 

of the year, for his 
enemies maligned him by declaring that he was growing 
old and had lost his vigor, 

434. Citizenship Granted to the Allies. — For a time it 
seemed that civil war in Italy would shake to pieces the 
great Roman state, a disaster which neither the brilliant 
generalship of Hannibal was able to bring about nor yet the 
savage onslaught of the barbarian Cimbri and Teutons. In 
view of the danger, the consul Lucius Julius Caesar, 1 in 90 
b. c, proposed the Julian Law, by which full citizenship was 
given to the Latins and to those allies who had not revolted. 
In the next year another law granted citizenship to all the 
allies then in rebellion against Rome who would come to the 
Roman magistrate within sixty days and lay down their arms. 

Thus Rome was forced at the point of the sword to throw 
aside the policy of exclusiveness in her citizenship. The 
principle for which Livius Drusus had died was adopted 
within the year — but only after Rome had lost thousands 
of her citizens and allies upon the field of battle. 

The laws granting citizenship broke the spirit of the revolt. 
Sulla, who was made consul for the year 88 b. c, crushed the 
remaining bands of rebels with a severity which left its 
marks upon central Italy for years to come. 

435. A General View of the Civil Wars, 88-48 B. C— 
No sooner had the state surmounted this danger than it 

iThis Caesar is to be distinguished from his younger relative, the 
great Julius Caesar. 



THE POPULAR AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 347 



was hurled into a succession of civil wars between leaders 
of the democratic and senatorial parties. The senatorial 
aristocracy refused to give up any of its selfish privileges. 
The democratic leaders saw the discontent of the masses and 
made use of it for their own purposes. It was not the noble 
desire of the Gracchi to cure the poverty and ills in the 
Roman state which inspired these leaders. It was their 
own ambition for power. So the struggle continued until 
a great man came who made himself first the idol of the 
Roman mob, then master of the mob and the Senate alike. 
This was Julius Caesar. 

436. The Eastern Reaction: Mithradates. — The civil wars, 
and the growth of 
the power of one man 
over the Senate, 
is connected with 
a foreign war which 
endangered Rome's 
hold upon Asia. This 
was the war with 
Mithradates, king of 
Pontus, in which sev- 
eral of the Roman 
leaders won that mil- 
itary renown necessary to catch and hold the attention 
of the people. 

Mithradates had come to the throne of Pontus as a boy 
about eleven years old. His youth was passed amid hard- 
ships and dangers which hardened his powerful body, and 
made his Oriental nature unusually cruel and suspicious. 
Before 90 b. c. he had extended his kingdom of Pontus 
until it included all the lands bordering on the Black Sea. 
Upon the north side, it stretched beyond the Tauric Cher- 
sonese almost to the Ister River. . When he tried to extend 
his territory in Asia Minor over Lesser Armenia and 
Cappadocia, he came into conflict with states depend- 
ent upon Rome, and the Senate found it necessary to 
check him. 





Athenian Silver Coin, Stamped With the Head 
of Mithradates. 

The Greek Letters on the other side read: "of King 
Mithradates Eupator." The Coin Testifies to the 
Alliance Existing between Athens and Mithradates. 



348 



THE STORY OF ROME 



The prince Mithradates regarded himself as a cultured 
Greek rather than as an Oriental monarch. The lettering 
of his coins was Greek. He delighted in reading Greek 
authors, in seeing and talking with cultured men of the 
Greek race. In spite of this, he must be regarded as a 
leader of the eastern reaction against the Greek ideas 
introduced into western Asia by Alexander. The Mithra- 
datic wars, therefore, are to be coimected with the Persian 
wars of 490-480 b. c, and with the conquests of Alexander, 
as one other phase of the great contests between East 




I \ Roman Provinces 

" Vassal States 

'} Kingdom of Mithradates 

\§y I \ Allies 

8^ 



Asia Minor at the Beginning op the Mithradatic Wars. 

and West which have centered time and again about the 
Mediterranean Sea. 

437. Massacre of Italians in Asia. — The Romans were 
not well prepared for the war with Mithradates when it 
broke out in 89 b. c. All Asia Minor, even the Greek cities, 
hailed the Pontic prince as its liberator from Roman op- 
pression, and the Roman province of Asia fell entirely 
under his control. In spite of their closer relation with the 
Romans in culture and race, the Greeks sided with Mithra- 
dates because they were embittered by the injustice of the 
Roman rule in Greece and Asia Minor. 



THE POPULAR AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 349 

In 88 b. c, the hatred engendered in the East against 
Rome showed itself in a terrible outbreak. At the order 
of Mithradates all the Italians living in Asia Minor, men, 
women, and children, slaves and free alike, were massacred. 
The number of the slain is given by ancient writers as 80,000. 
From a speech which the orator Cicero made in the year 
66 b. c, when he was urging that Gnseus Pompey be put in 
charge of the war with Mithradates, we learn of the financial 
panic which this massacre and the loss of Asia caused at 
Rome: 

We ought surely to keep in mind the lesson which this same Asia 
and this same Mithradates taught us at the beginning of the Asiatic 
war. For we know how payment of debts was stopped at Rome and 
credit shaken when so many had lost their property in Asia. (Cicero, 
Manilian Law, ch. VII.) 

438. Civil War Between Sulla and Marius. — In 88 b. c, 

when the Senate declared war upon Mithradates, Sulla 
was consul. He had just stamped out the last sparks of 
the Italian revolt, had a trained and loyal army at his back, 
and had already had dealings in Asia with Mithradates. 
In the city, however, another popular movement was going 
on under the leadership of a democratic tribune. Because 
Sulla was an aristocrat, he was deposed from his command, 
and the conduct of the war was turned over to the aged 
democratic leader, Marius. 

Enraged by this treatment, Sulla marched with his army 
upon Rome from his camp in Campania. In the streets 
of the city the unorganized mob of Marius' followers fought 
with the armed veterans of Sulla and were slaughtered. 
Marius fled for his life, while Sulla established the senatorial 
party in power and then left with his army for Greece, which 
had been invaded by Mithradates. 

439. Flight and Return of Marius. — The flight of Marius, 
pursued by the adherents of Sulla, was filled with dangers. 
At one town in Italy the magistrates sent a Gaul to kill him ; 
but the slave was so terrified by the gleam of the old man's 
eyes and his thundering voice that he ran away shouting, 
"I cannot kill Gaius Marius." Marius escaped into Africa, 



350 THE STOUY OF ROME 

and returned to Rome when he learned that Sulla had left 
for Greece, and that the democratic leader, China, was 
marching upon the city with a combined force of all those 

discontented with the Senate's rule. 

The democrat ie troops took the city with little effort. 
Then Marius, at the head of his troops, began a butchery 
of the senatorial leaders and followers which lasted live days. 
'The heads o{ the murdered magistrates and wealthy men 
o( Koine were piled near the rostra. Thus Marius, who had 
saved the state in the time of tin 1 German invasion, became 

its SCOUrge. His dream that he was to be seven times 
consul was fulfilled when he took the consulship for the year 
8(3 b. c. Luckily, he died early in the year, and the other 
democratic leaders put an end to the massacres. The 
democratic party, now grown into a restless mob without 
able leaders, controlled affairs at Rome until the return 
of Sulla. The democratic leaders appointed governors over 
all the provinces, and sent out generals to take the command 
of the Mithradatic War away from Sulla. 

440. Return of Sulla, 83 B. 0- In the years 87-84 B. c, 
Sulla proved himself a masterly general in his conduct of 
the war against Mithradates. Although he was declared 
an outlaw by the democratic government at home, although 
democratic leaders appeared in Greece and Asia to take 
command of his army and the war, Sulla forced Mithradates 
out of Greece, defeated him in Asia, reconquered the province 
of Asia, and made a treaty of peace favorable to Rome. 
Unfortunately, he inflicted a severer penalty upon the prov- 
ince o{ Asia than upon Mithradates, by forcing it to pay 
in the' taxes unpaid during the live years of revolt from 
Rome, a sum amounting to over $20,000,000. 

When Sulla landed in Italy in 83 B. C, all those classes 
who sympathized with the senatorial aristocracy, and those 
who were tired of the democratic misrule, came to his camp. 
Among these were two young men who later became promi- 
nent in tin 1 history o( Home, Marcus I Tassus and GnseUS 
Pompeius (Pompey). Late in the next year the final 
battle was fought before the gates of Rome between 



THE POPULAR AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 351 

the troops of Sulla and the democratic forces. It ended 
in ;i complete victory for Sulla, in which ;»,()()() of his 
opponents were captured and a far greater number 
were slain. 

An incident occurred at this time which aptly illustrates 
the heartlessness of Sulla. He had these 3,000 men massa- 
cred in the ( Jampus Martius. While the awful deed was 
going on, Sulla was addressing 1 he Senate in a temple near by. 
As the death-cries of the murdered soldiers were heard, 
the senators shuddered and showed (heir horror. Sulla 
hade I hem he attentive to him. The noise from without, 
he said, was made by some rascals who were being punished 

at his command. 

441. Sulla Master in Rome. The manner in which Sulla 
now controlled the state indicates how rapidly Home was 
verging toward monarchy, the rule of one man. Sulla had 

the Senate appoint him dictator, with full power to reor- 
ganize the stale. For as long a time as he chose to maintain 
the position, he was master- of Koine and its provinces. 

The cruelty which Rlarius showed in his rage and bitter- 
ness in the last year of his life was more than matched l>y 
the cold-blooded "proscriptions" of Sulla. For several 
weeks he continued to post lists of " proscribed " persons, 
the leaders of the democratic party. Anyone who slew 
one of these received a reward from the stale treasury. 
By this method about- . r ),()()() of the wealthier and more 
influential members of the democratic party were hunted to 

their death. 

442. The Restoration of the Senate. After the opposing 

leaders had been killed, Sulla restored the Senate to its old 
position as head of the state administration, and attempted 

to cripple the democracy forever. This he hoped to accom- 
plish by making the tribuneship and Tribal Assembly in- 
effective through the following laws: 

I. Any proposal of I lie tribunes in list have the approval of 

I In- Senate before it could \w laid before the Assembly and 
become .-i law. In other words, the Hortensian Law of 287 

B. e. was annulled. 



352 THE STORY OF ROME 

2. No magistrate could be reelected to the same office until 
ten years had passed. This made it impossible for any man to 
make himself powerful by holding the tribunate for a number of 
years, as Gaius Gracchus had done, or the consulship, as in 
the case of Marius. 

3. A man who held the tribunate could not be a candidate 
for any higher office in the state. This was designed to take 
away the dangers from the tribunate by keeping ambitious 
men out of that office. 

Sulla also attacked the knights by taking the jury courts 
out of their hands and making only senators eligible, as 
had be^n the case before Gaius Gracchus. 

443. Abdication and Death of Sulla. — All of this legis- 
lation, designed to weaken the magistrates and people and to 
strengthen the Senate, was swept away and the old order 
restored in the democratic victory of 70 b. c. The other 
laws of Sulla, those that were not solely in the interests of 
the aristocracy, contain the best that he did for the state. 
He increased the number of the praetors from six to eight, 
of the quaestors to twenty, to take charge of the increase 
in the state's business. He established new courts, each 
to hear cases on a special kind of crime, as 
for example, one court on forged wills, and 
another on cases where poisoning was 
suspected. 

In 79 b. c, after two years as dictator, 
Sulla resigned his office, and allowed the 
Roman Coin Giv- newly organized government to run itself. 
ing the Only ^ j a ^ er ^ e ^ied, suddenly, and was ac- 

Trustworthy j ^ 7 

Likeness op Sulla, corded a great and pompous funeral. The 
it reads: "Suiia cold-blooded cruelty of Sulla and his love of 

cos.," i. e., "Sulla , , -i • 1 • r 1 • 1 

the Consul." l° w pleasures appeared in his lace, which 

Plutarch describes in these words: " His 
blue eyes, of themselves extremely keen and glaring, were 
rendered all the more forbidding and terrible by the com- 
plexion, of his face, in which white was mixed with rough 
blotches of fiery red." In spite of his ability and his power- 
ful personality, Sulla cannot be called a great statesman. He 




THE POPULAR AND SENATORIAL PARTIES 353 

was wrong in supposing that the Senate could successfully 
rule the state. For the senatorial class was no longer com- 
posed of the type of Roman citizens which had saved the 
state in the days of Hannibal. 

References for Outside Reading 

Plutarch, Lives of Marius and Sulla; Munro, Source Book, pp. 115- 
124; Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 171-188; Abbott, Short History of 
Rome, pp. 148-159; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, pp. 214-239, 
259-271, 292-305; Taylor, Constitutional and Political History, ch. 
10, 11; Beesly, The Gracchi, Marius and Sulla, ch. 4-15; Seignobos, 
Ancient Civilization, pp. 281-284; Oman, Seven Roman Statesmen, ch. 
4, 5; Shuckburgh, History of Rome, ch. 36-40; How and Leigh, History 
of Rome, ch. 35-44; Seignobos, History of the Roman People, ch. 14. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Jugurtha at Rome. — Greenidge, History of Rome, vol. I, pp. 357- 

365; Sallust, Jugurthine War, ch. 32-35. 

2. Marius as Lieutenant and Commander in Africa. — Plutarch, 

Life of Marius, ch. 6-10. 

3. The Proscriptions of Sulla. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 183- 

185; Plutarch, Life of Sulla, ch. 30-31. 

4. Marius and the Teutons. — Plutarch, Life of Marius, ch. 15-23. 









CHAPTER XXXIII 
THE RISE OF CAESAR TO SOLE LEADERSHIP 

444. Pompey's Military Career in Spain, 76-72 B. C. — 
When Sulla returned to Rome from Asia in 83 b. c, the 
ablest of the leaders of the democratic party, Sertorius, 
fled to Spain. Here he was well known, and the Spaniards 

made him their leader against the gov- 
ernors whom the senatorial party sent 
out. For ten years Sertorius, although 
an outlaw and continually fighting with 
the armies sent out from Rome, main- 
tained himself as an independent ruler 
in Spain. 

In 77 b. c, the young and ambitious 
Gna?us Pompey was given command of 
the war against him. Often he met de- 
feat at the hands of Sertorius and his 
s. Several times he forced Sertorius into 

some fortress whence escape seemed impossible. Always 

the brave and skilful general 

eluded Pompey's grasp. Thus 

Sertorius defied the best gen- 
erals of Rome until, in 72 b. a, 

he was assassinated by some 

fellow-officers in his own camp. 

Spain, deprived of his talented 

leadership, was readily subdued, 

and Pompey marched back with 

all the renown which comes to 

the victorious general. 

445. Outbreak of the Slave Rebellion, 73-71 B. C— In Italy 
the wars of the past twenty years had filled the estates of the 
capitalists with slaves. The strongest captives were trained 

354 






Pompey the Cheat. 
From a Bust in Copenhagen. 



devoted Spaniard 




Gladiatorial Combat Between a 
Samxite and a Thracian. 

Wall-painting from Pompeii. 



THE RISE OF r.l's.VK TO SOLE LEADERSHIP 355 

to fight as gladiators in the greal shows given tor the people. 
Mosl of these men were trained soldiers, and were especially 
dangerous because they were treated with a cruelty which 
turned them to beasts. 

In 7;> b. c, about eighty gladiators broke out of the gladi- 
ators 1 barracks at Capua and tied to a deserted spot on 
Mount Vesuvius, armed with cooking spits and knives which 
they took from a bakery. An able Thracian named Spar- 
tacus was chosen as their leader. Slaves from the estates 
round about swelled his ranks, until Spartacus stood at 
the head o( a large and well-armed body o( troops. For 
two years consuls and praetors suffered defeat before this 
motley array of slaves, and Italy was ravaged from end 
to end. At last the Senate put Marcus CrasSUS, the richest 
man of Rome, in charge of the war. Ho restored the 
spirits and discipline o( the soldiers, and defeated the 
bands oi slaves in Apulia. Spartacus was slain upon the 

held. 

446. Marcus Crassus.— Crassus had amassed a fortune 
at the time of t ho proscriptions o( Sulla, by buying up the 

houses and estates o( the condemned at low figures, and 
holding them until political affairs became more settled 
and the value o( property was restored to its normal figure. 
Some of his una hods o( speculation were peculiar. He 
kept a band o( about 500 slaves who were builders and 
architects. When a tire broke out in some congested part 
o\ tlu 1 city. CrasSUS would appear with his band and would 
bid a low price for the burning house and those near by 
which were in danger. Then he would send in his band of 
slaves, save what he could, re-build and sell the property. 
Plutarch says o( him: 

Although He had many silver mines, valuable land and 
servants to work it, yet one would rate these as nothing com- 
pared to the value o( his slaves. For he had very many and 
all kinds, readers, secretaries, silver-workers, stewards, and 
waiters. He himself directed their training, even teaching 
them in person. (Plutarch, CrasstiS, eh. II.) 



356 



THE STORY OF ROME 




A3& 






Marcus Tullius Cicero. 
From a Bust in Florence. 



These well-trained slaves no doubt brought high prices in 
i he market. 

447. The Rising Politicians at Rome in 71 B. C. — Pompey 
and Crassus, both connected with the aristocratic party, and 
followers of Sulla, both wealthy men and able generals, were 

now the heroes of the hour at Rome. 
Another man who was attracting 
attention was Marcus Cicero, a 
young lawyer, born at Arpinum. 
He had already given evidence of 
that ability as a public speaker 
which was to carry him to the 
highest offices in the Roman state, 
and make his name immortal among 
the great orators of the world. 

In the ten years after Sulla's 

death, Gaius Julius Caesar became 

active in the politics of Rome. His 

gifts as a speaker, used in prosecuting those officials who 

had extorted money in the provinces, were second only to 

those of Cicero. Plutarch says of him : 

In Rome he gained much favor by his eloquence in public 
prosecutions, and won the affection of the people by his hand- 
shaking and pleasant address, being courteous beyond his 
years. By the open house he kept, the entertainments he 
gave, and the general splendor of his mode of life, he gradually 
increased his political influence. 

Because of his extreme care in dress and his politeness, 
the real abilities and unbounded ambition of Caesar remained 
concealed. Cicero himself said of him much later in life: 

When I see his hair so prettily arranged and observe him 
fixing it with one finger, it does not seem possible to me that 
such a thought would ever come into this man's mind as to 
overthrow the Roman state. 

448. The Restoration of the Democracy, 70 B. C. — This 
group of rising politicians had all seen Marius, in his old 
age, in supreme command of Rome. They had seen Sulla 



THE RISE OF OESAB TO SOLE GEADERSHIP 357 
change the whole organization of the governmenl according 

1o his own desire. They were all ambitious for power ;in<l 
nol very scrupulous in the menus they used to gain it. In 
71 b. c, the victorious and renowned generals, Pompey and 
Crassus, wished to obtain the consulship for the next year. 
The senatorial leaders objected to this because Pompey 
was not yet of legal age for that office, and because the 
aristocratic party was always afraid of those men whose 
popularity seemed to endanger the Senate's supremacy. 

The leaders of the democratic party had long been de- 
manding that the tribunate be restored to its former posi- 
tion. They now promised their votes to Pompey and Cras- 
SUS, if they would re-establish the tribunes with all their old 
powers, and thus give back to the people their- leaders and 
their right to make laws without the Senate's consent. The 
two agreed to this, and kept their agreement when they be- 
came consuls in 70 b. c. Thus, those measures of Sulla 
which had made the Senate all-powerful were rescinded. 
The jury courts were now put back into the hands of the 
knights, two-thirds of the jurors being chosen from the* 
knights, and the remaining third from the senators. 

449. Change in the Leadership of the Popular Party. — In 
the time of Ihe Gracchi the leadership of the democratic 
party had been found in the tribunate. Marius gave the 
people a new type of leader — the man whose military renown 
gave the party a strength which it entirely lacked under 
the Gracchi. When Sulla weakened the tribunate, the 
democracy lost its leaders entirely. The new life given to 
the popular party, and the restoration of the tribunes in 
70 b. C, were due solely to the new consuls, Crassus and 
Pompey, whose reputations had been gained by the success- 
ful conduct of military campaigns. Henceforth the demo- 
cratic party found its lenders in the generals who had won 
great glory in war and had armies behind them, as Sulla had 
when he established himself as dictator. The tribunes be- 
came the tools with which the popular generals managed the 
Tribal Assembly, and passed the laws which they desired. 
This change may be clearly seen in the laws proposed by 



358 THE stoky OF ROME 

two tribunes, Qahinius and Manilius, in the years 67 and 
66 u. < ., which are intimately connected with ili<- activity of 
Mithradates of Pontus against Roman control in A 1.1 Minor. 
4r>(). Tho Contiiuumoe of the Mithradatio Wars. The 
treaty which Sulla had made with Mithradates in 84 it. o. 
was maintained until VI b. o., although there was some 
unimportant fighting in the years 83 to 81 b. c. (seoond 
Mithradatio War), Aiter the death of Sulla, whom Mithra 
dates greatly respected and feared, when Sertorius was 
winning victories against the Roman state in Spain, Mith 
radates thought that his opportunity had come t<> break 

llic Roman hold upon Asia Minor. Accordingly he marched 

westward into Bithynia and began the third Mithradatio 
\Y:ir, winch i lraggo< l through eleven years (74 63 b. o.). 

The Roman commander, Lucullus, a leader of the Sena 
lori.il party, carried on this war for eight years with great 
ability and success, lie beoame unpopular, however, with 
the soldiers, because he refused t<> permit them t«> plunder 
the natives <>i Asm Minor and maintained a strict discipline, 
lie was hated, also, by the Roman capitalists, because he 
protected the provincial subjects against their greed. Con 
sequently, the oommand of the war was taken from him by 
i\ decree of the Tribal Assembly in <»7 b. c. 

While (his war had been going on, the Roman control of 
(he Mediterranean sea was almost lost because of the 
ravages ^\ the organized son power <>i the pirates, who were 
allied with Mithradates. Starting out from the mountains 
along the sen coast of Cilioia, they h:><l extended their 
field of operations until their fleets now dared t<» loot the 
great temples of Delos, to rob and burn in [taly and Sicily, 
and oven to steal men and children there for the slave 
market, Their daring went so far that they seized Roman 

officials within ;i tew miles <>l Koine :md held them lor 

ransom. 

451. Tho Gabinian and Manillas Laws, 07 CA\ B, C. It 
was necessary that the Roman state put an end to this situ 
Sttion. In t>7 b. c, the tribune Aulus Gabinius proposed a 
decree that Pompey be made commander in ohiei of the 



'i 111, iuhk OJ ( iMHAll to SOLE u,\i>i,i: inr :;..'.» 



war with the pirates. He was to have unlimited sway over 
the Mediterranean Sea and the coast for fifty miles inland, 
for a period of three years. Within three months Pompey 
had hunted the pirates to their laii in wild sea coast places, 
and cleared the '■;" of this scourge, [n 66 b i , before he 
had laid down the powers granted to him by the Qabinian 
law, a tribune named Vlaniliui propo ed thai the power 
of Pompey be 
furl her extended 
to include all the 
i e rn prov- 
ince ubjecl to 
Rome, with full 
charge of I i' r M i 
i hradal ic W&\ 

Pompey r • 1 1 - 
tered upon this 
ta I '■■• il h vigoi 
He forced Mi- 
thradate to flee 
far to I he norl h 
ea I ; he co n - 
quered I he •'« 
and ;i'|f|<'r| the 
Seleucid king 
Horn of Syria to 
the Roman do- 
main. At last, in 63 b. c, wofl wa broughl to him 
thai Mithradates' on had revolted again * the old king, 
and thai Mithradates himself had committed suicide to 
avoid being captured. The death of Mithradates ended 
the long revolt of the Ea it again I Rome. A a result, the 
Roman territory in western Asia wa extended to the 
Euphrate River, by the addition of the two new province 
of Syria and Bithynia, which included the western pari of 
Mithradates' kingdom of Pontus. Palestine became a de- 
pendency of Rome, and Egypt had long been under the 
protection of the Senate. The end of the Mithradatic wars, 




i '.i ElOMAl Pfl Ail' i ' in' I 1 'i Till E tl 

'.i i in. M ri Mi' • i) • i o v. ... n 



Sin) THE ST0R1 OF ROME 

therefore, marks a step In the rounding out of the Roman 
power in the East, Pompey was occupied for two years 
with the arrangement of matters in western Asia, and could 
not return to Italy until late in the year 62 b. c, 

458. The Growth Of Great Estates in the Provinces, ami 
the Coloni. Hie Roman occupation o\ Asia Minor in L33 
b. c, and the addition of great stretches oi territory through 
the Mithradatic wars, led to the growth of great domains, 
either leased by the state to the Roman publicans for long 
periods of time, or sold outright by the state to the con- 
quering generals ami their friends o( the noble circles o( 
Rome. Rome had always regarded conquered territory as i he 
" farms" of the Roman stale. These farms the censors might 
sell outright or lease for a share of the produce to a tenant. 

In western Asia the Romans found that the immense es- 
tates of the Greek kings oi Pergamum and Syria were worked 
largely by free men who were, however, in a way attached 
to the soil which they cultivated. It is true that theso 
peasants could move away from an estate if they wished 

to do so ; Rut according to t he i Sreek idea o\ the city-state t hey 
must return at certain intervals to the estate or city in which 
they were born, to be enrolled for the purposes o( taxation. 
When the Greek kings of Syria and Pergamum sold portions 

o\ their estates these peasants went with the land. In spite of 
their freedom, they were connected with the soil oi the es- 
tates, and were the personal subjects oi the owners o( the 
domains, who were usually kings or great nobles. In the 
Greek, these peasants were called laoi ) in the Latin, coloni. 
The Roman conquerors accepted the idea that they must 
return to their native place for taxation, and called this the 
doctrine o( origo (origin). 

Out oi the idea o\ these royal estates o( Greek kings 

and the peasants who were considered as belonging with the 
land, two very important historical results followed in the 
later centuries: 

1. The growth of immense holdings by private Romans. 

which were later taken over by the Roman emperors. Out of 
these developed the great feudal estates of the Middle Ages. 



THE RISE 01 CiESAR 'JO SOLE LEADERSHIP 361 

2. The formation of the i coloni in the Roman empire. 

When the theory of ori^o pplied, the system would, 

d in the Middle Ages did, develop i md to the 

noil which they worked, and bought >ld with it, like cattle. 

453. The Consulship of Cicero, 03 B. C. The orator 
f cero had made his first great political pe< '■;> in 66 b i 
in tupportof theManiliarj Law. The oration wa i wonderful 
in composition and delivery, and brought Cicero the sup- 
port of the greal Pompey, as he hoped it. would. At, this 
t.irn'- ;i ooble named Catiline, a capable man of yery bad 
character, was making every efTori to gain the consulship. 
He was supported by the most lawless elements of Rome, 
who hoped for an erasure of debts, and a chance to regain 
their wasted fortunes, if Catiline should get the office. 

Cicero was chosen by the better elements in Rome to 
run against Catiline for the consulship of the year 63 b i 
Cicero won, and Catiline, made desperate o. hi defeat, 
formed a plot to murder the consul, seize the power, and 
run the government for himself and his (oiler The con- 

sul, however, wa ire of the progre of the plot, and 
finally drove Catiline from the city. Catiline and his 
followers then took arms against the stat< rebel but 
were defeated in battle, and th< ter number of them 

kill- 

454. Return of Pompey and the First Triumvirate. The 
report was current in Rome that both Crassus and Julius 
Caesar were implicated in the conspiracy of Catiline. Though 
it was in all probability untrue, the rumor affected their 

tiding in the politics of the city. Pompey, who had been 
absent winning glory for himself and provinces for the re- 
public, was free from all connection with the recent disturb- 
ances in Rome. Upon his return in 62 b. c, he might have 
marched with his veterans to the walls of Rome and made 

•The oration of Cicero upon the Manil. 
before the Senate arid the people when he consul upon the con- 

spiracy of Catiline are among the greatest of his pub!. 
They ire 'ill read as model '/• good oratory and good Latin by pupils 
in our high schoc 



362 THE STORY OF ROME 

himself master of the state, as Sulla had done. He preferred 
to disband his army as the law required, and hoped to gain 
from the Senate and the people high positions such as he 
had been fortunate enough to hold during the previous ten 
years. 

Cicero, who feared the rule of one man, wished to recon- 
cile Pompey and the Senate ; but when the aristocratic 
party saw that Pompey had disbanded his troops, they did 
everything possible to humiliate him. They failed to ratify 
the arrangements which he had made with the dependent 
princes of the East, and refused to grant the allotments of 
land which he had promised to his veterans. 

Caesar returned from his praetorship in Spain in 60 b. c, 
with money to pay some of his vast debts and otherwise 
in better favor — as Cicero says in a letter written in 
that year, " with the wind full in his sails." Seeing 
the humiliating position of Pompey, Caesar made 
a political deal with that great general and the 
wealthy Crassus. By coming to an agreement 
and uniting their influence in the Senate and with 
the voters, Caesar saw that they could obtain 
whatever they desired in the state. For Pompey 
had great influence with the middle classes and 
was popular with the common people: Crassus 

AROMAN F 1 ■, . ■, -I 

Lamp of the had millions with which to buy the votes of the 
^L R v- s I^ Cen " corrupted masses: and Csesar had the brains to 

TU It i j B.C. -*■ ' 

conceive the plan and the boldness to push it 
through. This group of three men has been called the First 
Triumvirate, although the name does not imply that the 
triumvirate was in any way a board which had received 
definite powers by vote of the -Roman Senate and people. 
They were merely political "bosses" whose combined in- 
fluence enabled them to control the elections at Rome and 
the passing of laws. 

455. Results of the Agreement. — The combination formed 
by these three politicians had the following immediate 
results : 

1. Csesar was elected to the consulship for 59 b. c, and was 




THE RISE OF C^SAR TO SOLE LEADERSHIP 363 

then appointed governor of the province of Gaul for a five-year 
term. 

2. Pompey's agreements with the eastern countries were 
ratified by the Senate, and the land voted to his veterans. 

3. We cannot know all that fell to Crassus; but we may be 
sure that it was at his wish that certain laws were passed, by 
which the debts were canceled which were owed to the treasury 
by those who farmed the taxes of Asia. 

The union between Pompey and Caesar was made firmer 
by Pompey's marriage with Caesar's daughter Julia. The 
formation of the triumvirate was the great step in Caesar's 
advance to sole power in the state; for in the province of 
Gaul, he had an opportunity to win renown as a conqueror 
equal to that of Pompey himself. The money and glory 
which he gained there and the army which followed him 
raised him higher and higher, until all the Roman world 
lay at his feet. 

After the death of Julia in 54 b. c, the good feeling 
between Pompey and Caesar rapidly grew into distrust. 
Each saw in the other a rival for the supreme rule of the 
Roman world. Yet the agreement between them remained 
in force until 53 b. c, when Crassus fell on the field of Carrhae 
in western Asia, where he, too, warring with the Parthians, 
was attempting to gain more renown as a general. 

456. Conquest of Gaul by Caesar 58-49 B. C— When Cae- 
sar became proconsul of Gaul for five years, he saw the chance 
of opening up by conquest a large and fertile country to 
Roman business enterprise, and to the Greek culture which 
Rome had adopted. At a meeting of the three great leaders 
held in 56 b. c, it was agreed that Caesar's proconsulship 
should be extended for another five years. Year after 
year Caesar led his legions against the brave Celts, who 
fought desperately to maintain their independence. In the 
first year of his proconsulship, he drove out of Gaul the Ger- 
man tribes who had crossed the Rhine under a strong leader 
named Ariovistus. This Roman victory settled, for 400 
years, the question whether the land which we call France 
was to be ruled by the Germans or the Romans. 



304 THE STORY OF ROME 

Caesar's work of conquest twice carried him across the 
Rhine into the wilderness of Germany and across the Eng- 
lish Channel into Britain. His campaigns into Germany and 
against the Celts in Britain were not undertaken with the 
idea of conquering these lands, but with the desire to teach 
their warlike tribes that Rome was mighty and terrible in 
her punishments. For the Germans had begun to cross the 
Rhine into Gaul, eager to gain possession of its fertile fields; 
and the Celts of Britain kept stirring up revolts among the 
Gallic tribes conquered by Caesar, and supported them in 
their opposition to Roman dominion. 

We obtain our knowledge of these campaigns from ( Jsesar's 
own pen, in a book called the Gallic Wars or Commentaries. 
There is no doubt of the military genius of Caesar, and no 
doubt that his punishment of the Gallic tribes when they 
revolted against the Roman rule was merciless. Some- 
times he put thousands to death, sometimes cut off the right 
hands of the fighting men. His enemies of that time rightly 
branded some of his actions as faithless and brutal; but 
he was never cruel unless severity seemed necessary to 
intimidate the Gauls and aid in the conquest of the 
country. 

Caesar's conquest of Gaul is historically of great impor- 
tance. It opened up this land to Greco-Roman civilization; 
and the language spoken by the French to-day, a speech 
grown out of the Latin tongue, is a living memorial of 
Caesar's genius. The conquest, furthermore, temporarily 
stemmed the tide of German invasion which had been run- 
ning westward out of the forests across the Rhine, added a 
rich country to the Roman domain, and rounded out the 
empire toward the north. It gave Caesar that military fame 
with the people at Rome which made him greater in the 
public eye than even Pompey himself. It made him master 
over trained and devoted legions, with which he was en- 
abled to defeat his rival, and. raise himself to the lofty 
position of sole ruler of the Roman world. 

457. The Break between Caesar and the Senate. — The sen- 
atorial party had watched the growth of Caesar's popularity 



THE RISE OF C.KSAR TO SOLE LEADERSHIP 365 

and power with increasing hatred and alarm. Caesar knew 
well what would happen if he should come to Rome without 
his army or the office of consul when his term expired in 
Gaul. The Senate would meet him with even greater sus- 
picion and fear than that which they had showed toward 
Pompey upon his return from the East in 62 b. c. Members 
of the aristocratic party had openly threatened to bring him 
to trial for various offenses when he returned. Caesar there- 
fore demanded that he be permitted to run for the consul- 
ship while still holding office in Gaul. 

As Caesar's renown grew, Pompey, who had once been the 
popular hero because of his victorious career, saw that 
his own influence was waning, and his friendship for Caesar 
changed to jealousy. Knowing this, the Senate prevailed 
upon Pompey to become its leader against the too am- 
bitious Caesar. When the Senate finally demanded that 
Caesar should lay down his office in Gaul, and appear as a 
private citizen in Rome, Marcus Antonius, a tribune devoted 
to Caesar, vetoed the proposal. He was driven from Rome, 
and fled to Caesar. Caesar saw that he must strike at once 
to maintain his power and position. He therefore crossed 
the Rubicon river, which marked the boundary of his prov- 
ince, and marched upon Rome with the one legion at hand. 
The ancient writers tell us that he hesitated when he came 
to the stream, thinking of the war which he must wage 
against the state. " We can still turn back," he said. At 
last he exclaimed, "Let the die be cast," and forded the 
stream — either to lose his life as a rebel against the govern- 
ment or to make himself master of the Senate and the 
Roman state (January, 49 b. c. . 

References for Outside Reading 

Munro, Source Book, pp. 124-138; Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 
189-212; Plutarch, Lives of Pompey, Crassus, Cicero, Ccesar; Abbott, 
Short History of Rome, pp. 158-166; Pelham, Outlines of Roman His- 
tory, pp. 240-258, 271-289, 305-329; How and Leigh, History of Rome, 
oh. 45-51; Taylor, Constitutional and Political History, oh. 12-14; 
Shuckburgh, History of Rome, oh. 41-44; Seignobos, History of the Roman 
People, ch. 15-16; Oman, Seven Roman Statesmen, pp. 162-324; Meri- 



366 THE STORY OF ROME 

vale, Fall of the Roman Republic, ch. 6-11; W. S. Davis, A Friend of 
Ccesar (historical novel) . 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Sertorius in Spain. — Plutarch, Life of Sertorius, ch. 10-27. 

2. Spartacus the Gladiator. — Plutarch, Life of Crassus, ch. 8-11. 

3. Caesar Captured by Pirates. — Plutarch, Life of Ccesar, ch. 1-2. 

4. Death of Crassus. — Plutarch, Life of Crassus, ch. 19-33. 

5. POMPEY AND THE WAR WITH THE PlRATES. Botsford, Story of 

Rome, pp. 192-193; Plutarch, Pompey, ch. 24-28. 

6. Debate between Cesar and Ariovistus. — Caesar, Gallic War, 

I, ch. 42-47. 



CHAPTER XXXIV 
OESAR PUTS AN END TO THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 

458. Caesar Conquers his Enemies in Italy and Spain, 
49 B. C. — Nothing was more unexpected by Caesar's oppo- 
nents than that he would march directly upon Rome with a 
single legion. Pompey, who had been appointed commander- 
in-chief against him, had made no preparations. He had 
said to a friend who asked him with what troops he would 
resist Caesar: " Wherever I stamp my foot in any part of 
Italy, forces enough will rise up in an instant." It seemed 
a reckless enterprise on Caesar's part. He was only a re- 
bellious governor, controlling Gaul and its nine legions. 
The senatorial party could array against him all the re- 
maining troops of the Roman world. The sea and the 
Roman fleet were entirely under its control. 

When Caesar marched southward with his small force, the 
Senate was not prepared to meet him, and the magistrates 
of the city and the leaders of the nobility fled with Pompey 
to Brundisium. Thence they were able to sail across to 
Epirus, although Caesar tried to capture Pompey before he 
could leave Italy. When he failed in this, Caesar turned his 
attention to Spain, which had been Pompey's province, and 
was now held by his legions. By brilliant generalship, Caesar 
conquered the whole of Spain in three months. 

459. Battle of Pharsalus, 48 B. C, and Death of Pompey. — 
While Caesar was busied in Spain, Pompey had collected a 
large force, and awaited his attack in Epirus. Although 
Caesar's army was the smaller, it was better seasoned and 
much better led. Caesar lured Pompey into Thessaly, and 
met him in the decisive battle at Pharsalus. It was in the 
cavalry, composed of the young nobility of Rome, that 
Pompey chiefly excelled. Plutarch states that Caesar ordered 
his troops to strike at the faces of these young men, " hoping 

24 367 



368 THE STORY OF ROME 

that they, being unused to war and wounds, being in the 
bloom of their youth and beauty, would not endure such 
blows, but would fear both the present danger and the later 
deformity." 

Pompey ordered his infantry to stand still and await the 
attack of Caesar's line, so as to allow it to become disor- 
ganized. Caesar himself criticised these tactics in his book 
called Civil Wars. " In our judgment this decision of Pom- 
peius has nothing to recommend it. There is in all men a 
certain instinctive courage and combativeness implanted in 
us by Nature, which is only kindled by the excitement of 
battle. This instinct it should be the object of commanding 
officers not to repress but to encourage." The battle was 
won by Caesar because of his greater skill in handling men 
and in maneuvering troops. 

The defeated general fled to Egypt, where he was slain 
upon the order of the young king of Egypt, who wished to 
curry favor with Caesar. Plutarch tells us that "not long 
after, Caesar arrived in the country that was polluted by this 
foul act. When one of the Egyptians was sent to present him 
with Pompey's head, he turned away from him with abhor- 
rence as from a murderer; and on receiving Pompey's seal, 
on which was engraved a lion holding a sword in his paw, 
he burst into tears." Such was the inglorious end of Pom- 
pey the Great. Though he long maintained his popularity 
with the Roman people because of his gifts as a general, 
though he won and deserved respect, Pompey was often 
undecided and unprepared at critical moments in his own 
career. He proved no match in the game of politics for his 
keen and determined rival, Julius Caesar. 

460. Conquest of the Remaining Republican Forces. — By 
Pompey's death the only great rival of Caesar was removed. 
Asia Minor, however, and northern Africa still remained in 
the hands of republican governors. After a delay in Egypt, 
where Caesar was entranced by the charms of the young queen 
Cleopatra, he hurried into Asia Minor. A five days' cam- 
paign sufficed to complete the overthrow of a revolting prince 
in the North. This campaign Caesar described to a friend in 



CAESAR ENDS THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 369 

the laconic and ringing phrase, " I came, I saw, I con- 
quered." L 

The remaining leaders of the senatorial party, who found 
it impossible to come to terms with the new master of Rome, 
gathered for a last stand in northern Africa. They were in- 
spired by Marcus Cato the Younger, a stanch believer in 
the old senatorial government, and a man incapable of yield- 
ing. At Thapsus in Africa, in 46 b. c, the last of the opposi- 
tion was crushed. Cato committed suicide rather than 
outlive the fall of the Republic. At last Caesar was undis- 
puted master. All the civilized world from Gibraltar to 
the Euphrates bowed to his sway. 

461. The Reorganization of the Roman State. — Between 
the crossing of the Rubicon in 49 b. c, and his death in 
44 b. c, Caesar had not more than fifteen months in Rome 
to give to the important work of reorganizing the Roman 
state. The task was left so far from finished that we can only 
know the general outline of his plan. It is probable that 
he intended to establish a monarchy with himself as king, 
although it is doubtful whether he would have taken the 
title. The supreme power, which Caesar had taken under 
the old title of dictator, he probably wished to be hereditary 
in his family. 

The changes which Caesar started prove that he may justly 
be called the founder of the Roman Empire. He destroyed 
the old Republic and put an end forever to its misrule. 
Upon the lines which he marked out, his successor, Augustus 
Caesar, constructed that wonderful organization known as 
the Roman Empire. Thus, Julius Caesar is not only the 
military genius whose generalship destroyed the old Roman 
state — he is also the political genius whose ideas are the 
foundation of the new state. 

462. Caesar's Official Position and Social Reform ?. — He 
made his power supreme over that of the other magistrates 
by taking the dictatorship. This was strengthened by elec- 
tion to the consulship in several years, and by having the 
Senate give him the tribunician power for life, which meant 

1 The Latin for this is the famous phrase, " Veni, vidi, vici." 



370 THE STORY OF ROME 

that he held all the privileges of a tribune, without the neces- 
sity of election to the office. The opposition to his absolute 
rule lay in the Senate. This body he weakened by increasing 
its number to 900, adding men who would submit to his will, 
and by controlling further admission to the senatorial seats. 
With wonderful energy Caesar set about the needed task 
of reform. Every act displays an unerring knowledge of 
the needs of the state, and clear statesmanship in meeting 
those needs. The system of grain-doles established by 
the Gracchi had grown into a vast and needless expendi- 
ture. This drain upon the treasury he cut down by one- 
half, by leaving on the lists only those who were actually 
in need. The number of those who received grain shrunk 
from 320,000 to 150,000. Thus he changed a harmful sys- 
tem of graft into an organized and effective method of state 
charity. Caesar revived the idea of Gaius Gracchus of es- 
tablishing colonies outside of Italy to relieve the distress in 
Italy, and tried to limit the number of slaves to be em- 
ployed upon the great Italian estates. 

463. Political Reforms. — With Caesar's rule a new era begins 
in the government of the Roman provinces. His desire seemed 
to be to raise the provincials to a position of equality with the 
Italians. The colonists who were sent over sea carried their 
citizenship with them, and Caesar gave citizenship to many 
individuals, even to entire cities, in Spain, Gaul, and the East. 

Steps were taken to protect the provincials by putting the 
appointment of the governors into Caesar's hands, with the 
power to recall those who were dishonest. The governors, 
responsible now to a stern master, were afraid to rob their 
subjects as before. The system of farming the taxes, which 
had been a scourge to the province of Asia since the time of 
the Gracchi, was changed so that Asia could no longer be 
bled by the greedy publicans of Rome. 

The government of the municipalities in Italy was or- 
ganized upon a unified plan, which was further developed 
under Caesar's successors and applied in the provinces. 

In the midst of these political activities Caesar found time 
to think of the Roman calendar, which had become hope- 



CESAR ENDS THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 



371 



lessly confused. On the first of January, 45 b. c, the as- 
tronomers to whom he had assigned the work established 
the " Julian Calendar " of 365J4 days in the year. The 
name of the month July keeps the name of Julius Caesar 
always before us. 1 

464. The Assassination of Caesar, 44 B.C. — Toward those 
opponents who would in any way become reconciled to his rule, 
Caesar had shown the greatest mercy. Many of those who 
had fought on the side of Pompey received high offices and 
honors at the hands of the dictator; yet many of them, like 
Cicero, believed sincerely in the old republican government, 
and considered Caesar a usurper and a tyrant. They could 
not see that the rule of the Senate was too weak and corrupt 
to stand, nor could they see that Caesar's work was necessary 
if the power of Rome was to endure. Under the leadership 
of Marcus Junius Brutus, a dreamer, impracticable but sin- 
cere, and Gaius Cassius, a man of jealous disposition who 
felt a personal hatred of Caesar because others had been 
preferred before him, about sixty men of senatorial rank 
formed a conspiracy to kill the dictator. 

Upon the Ides (fifteenth) of March in 
44 b. c, they attacked him in the Senate 
house and stabbed him to death. 

465. Estimate of Caesar's Ability and 
Character. — The genius of Julius Caesar 
was unusual in that he seemed equally 
capable in many fields. As an orator, 
the men of his time placed him second 
to Cicero alone. As a writer, he was dis- 
tinguished in his lifetime, and, indeed, 

the clarity and directness of his Latin style is such that his 
account of the Gallic Wars is still studied to-day. In addition 
to his historical works he wrote poems and treatises on 
grammar and astronomy, which have been lost. 

1 The Julian Calendar is still used without change in Greece and 
Russia. In other countries of Europe and in our country the Gre- 
gorian calendar is used, in which the slight error of the Julian calendar 
was corrected by dropping out three leap years every 400 years. 




Coin Showing the 
Head of Julius Caesar, 
as he Looked in the 
Last Years of his Life. 



372 THE STORY OF HOME 

In military science, Caesar ranks with Alexander, Han- 
nibal, and Napoleon, although war was for him but a means 
to gain some political end, and his training was not that 
of a general. In the field of politics and statesmanship, 
Caesar's genius appears at its best. Something of Caesar's 
tireless energy, which was an important element of his suc- 
cess, may be learned from Plutarch's statements: 

Ho generally slept in his carriages or litters, employing even 
his periods of rest for action. He drove so rapidly that on 
his first expedition from Rome to Gaul he arrived at the Rhone 
River on the eighth day. In the Gallic War he accustomed 
himself to dictate his letters from horseback, and to keep two 
men writing at the same time — one writer says more than two. 

466. Roman Life in the First Century B. C: the Cosmo- 
politan Spirit of Rome. — Between the time of the Gracchi 
and the death of Caesar, Rome had become the political 
center of the Mediterranean world. To the world capital 
streamed men of every nation, Jews, Greeks, Syrians, Span- 
iards, and Celts, bent upon making their fortunes at what- 
ever trade they followed. The Greeks became noted as 
doctors, actors, and teachers. The Jews entered business 
and amassed wealth. The Syrians were famous at Rome 
as soothsayers and priests. 

On the other hand, the Romans and Italians traveled to 
all parts of the world, engaging in business enterprises or in 
tax-collecting in the countries bordering on the Mediter- 
ranean Sea. In the ranks of the Roman legions the same 
intermixture was found. Italian recruits marched with Cae- 
sar from one end of Gaul to the other. The Italian veterans 
of the Mithradatic wars returned to Italy thoroughly ac- 
quaint ed with Asia Minor and its people. In this way Italy, 
and especially Rome, came to have t ho broad cosmopolitan 
life that had characterized the Greek cities, and the spirit 
and ideas of the world became more and more unified. 

The unifying element of all this Mediterranean world was 
its Greek culture. The Greek language was spoken every- 
where. It was necessary for every Roman who entered polit- 



(VMS Alt KN1)S THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 373 

icaJ life to learn Greek. For thai reason the Romans of 
the higher classes were accustomed to finish (heir education 
in sonic Greek city, under noted professors of rhetoric and 
philosophy. 

467. Cicero's Career as a Student. — Plutarch's account of 
Cicero's student days will give some idea of the higher educa- 
tion of a Roman of that time. When Cicero had dropped his 
boyhood studies, he became a listener :it the lectures of a fol- 
lower of the philosophic school of Plato, named Philo, who 
was admired at Koine for his eloquence, and loved for his 
character. During this period (81-79 B.C.), Cicero gave 
himself up to a retired and studious life, conversing with the 
learned Greeks at Rome. While Sulla was dictator, Cicero 
aroused his enmity, and thought it best to leave the city. 
He therefore spent two years in the East, studying under 
several professors. At Athens he attended the lectures of 
a professor named Antiochus, and greatly admired the easy 
flow and elegance of his rhetoric, although he did not ap- 
prove of his ideas in philosophy. 

When news came of Sulla's death, Cicero could again 
hope for a political career. He therefore dropped philoso- 
phy, and returned to the studies of rhetoric and declamation, 
hearing the most celebrated rhetoricians of the time. He 
sailed from Athens for Rhodes and the cities of Asia Minor. 
At Adramyttium, at Magnesia, and in Caria, he studied the 
florid style of rhetoric then taught by the professors of Asia 
Minor. At Rhodes he studied oratory with Apollonius, and 
philosophy with Posidonius. Apollonius, who did not under- 
stand Latin, requested Cicero to declaim in Greek. When 
he had heard him, Apollonius declared that the Creek mastery 
in eloquence would now be transferred to Home by Cicero. 

468. Roman Literature in Caesar's Day. — The ( Sreek char- 
acter of Roman life may be best seen in the literature of the 
time. Lucretius (died 55 B.C.), a poet of great ability, put 
into Latin verse the teachings of the Greek philospher, Epi- 
curus. The desire of Lucretius in writing his great poem 
on the u Nature of the Universe " was to free the Romans 
from any belief in the gods or the immortality of the soul, 



374 THE STORY OF ROME 

and to introduce to the Romans the godless teachings of 
Epicurus. The popularity of this poem in Caesar's time 
shows clearly that the old Roman religion had Lost its hold 
upon the people. 

Catullus .died 54 b. a), a very gifted young poet from 
northern Italy, came to Home in the time of Cicero's promi- 
nence, and threw himself into the wild political and social 
life of the capital. This brilliant and enthusiastic poet had 
an unfortunate love affair with a woman high in society. 
To her. under the name of Lesbia, he addressed many short 
love-poems, which are preserved among the poems we have. 
In other poems, he lashes his enemies in Rome in hitter 
words. Caesar was out 1 of his enemies, and he flays him mer- 
cilessly, calling him effeminate and a "would-be writer." 

In addition to these poems upon the people and life of the 
hour, Catullus has some longer poems in which he translates 
into Latin marriage-songs and other shorter works of the 
Greek poets o^i the time after Alexander. Catullus was, 
without doubt, a literary genius. In his poems he ex- 
presses love and hate, sorrow and joy, all in strong and 
natural tones. 

469. The Place of Cicero in Raman Literature. — Although 
Cicero was a prominent political personage in his day, he was 
not so able or important a statesman as he himself thought. 
As compared with Caesar and Pompey, his influence on 
Roman politics was slight. As an orator, however, he takes 
rank among the greatest that have lived. The young poet 
Catullus has praised his oratory in words which are no 
exaggeration: " Most skilled in speech of the descendants 
of Romulus, all who are, and all who have been, and all who 
shall be hereafter in other years, Marcus Tullius Cicero — 
to thee his warmest thanks Catullus givos, the worst of all 
poets." 

As a writer, too, Cicero has an undisputed claim to great- 
ness. He wrote several treatises upon oratory and several 
essays, of which we have the ones upon " Old Age " and 
upon " Friendship." These are beautiful both in style 4 and 
thought. In the history of philosophy Cicero is important. 



C/KSAK ENDS THE ROMAN EtfePUBUC 375 

because be put into Latin the chief ideas of the important 
Greek philosophers, and thus made the best of Greek phi- 
losophy accessible to the Latin-reading population of the 
western part of the Mediterranean. In a way this work of 
Cicero is typical of one of the greal things thai Rome < I i < 1 
namely, to hand down ( rreek ideas to succeeding ages. 

470. Increase in Luxury. In the period of the expansion 
of Roman power after the death of the Gracchi, Roman life 
grew away from the simplicity of the days of the Punic wars. 
The change might have been seen in the streets of the city, 
v.Ikmc fine linens and purple robes were displayed, in the 
fine perfumes, and in the pearls worn by the ladies of fashion. 

As wealth poured into Rome from the provinces and the 
desire for luxuries increased, the cost of living advanced 

rapidly. A few men, like CraSSUS, amassed great fortunes. 

'The mass of the people were desperately poor. On the 

slopes of the Palatine hill was situated the fashionable 1 
quarter of Koine. There was the house of the rich young 
tribune, Livius Drusus, who gave up his life to bring about 
reform. II fell later into the hands of Oassus, the specu- 
lator, who sold it in G2 b. <'. to Cicero for about $175,000, a 
price which gives a good idea of the enormous value of 
property in t he greal capital. 

471. Country Places of the Romans. Since the city was 
crowded, noisy, and dirty, it became customary for the 
wealthy Romans to have large houses outside the city walls. 
For ten miles round about, the countryside was tilled with 
villas, from which the wealth) magistrates and business 
men rode into the city limits on horseback or in chariots. 
There they put up their vehicles or horses in hostelries, and 
went, the remainder of the way to their offices upon foot or 
in litters carried by slaves. In the late afternoon they rode 

out again to the country place. 

The wealthiest, class often had numerous villas situated 
in different parts of Italy, which they visited at different 
seasons of the year. Cicero, for example, in addition to his 
ancestral estate at his native place, Arpinum, had villas on 
the sea-coast near Antium and others near Formiie Puteoli, 



37G 



THE STORY OF ROME 



Cyme, and Pompeii. These estates were adorned with gar- 
dens, halls for exercise, and covered walks flanked with 
columns. To a man like Cicero they offered the quiet neces- 
sary for his literary work, to others rest and quiet after the 
wild turmoil of city politics. 

472. The Lives of the Poor. — Although many fine palaces 
were built by the wealthy from the time of the death of 
Sulla to the death of Caesar, the condition of living among 
the poor was not improved. Crowded into tenements built 
upon narrow and winding alleys, they must have lived squalid 
lives indeed. The grants of cheap grain, which became a 




A Roman Villa by the Sea. 

From a Wall-painting. The Figure above the man Fishing is a 
Statue of Hercules. 

regular custom after the time of the Gracchi, insured them 
enough food to live upon; but the pride of the poorer classes, 
and their willingness to work, were undermined by accepting 
the charity of the state. 

As the state took over the task of supporting the poor, so 
the wealthy citizens supplied them with their pleasures. It 
became customary for politicians to give festivals as a means 
of obtaining the votes of the mob of Rome. The chief part 
of these festivals lay in the gladiatorial games, an amuse- 
ment which the Latins had originally learned from Etruria. 
In these games men fought in pairs, usually with swords, and 
to the death. Sometimes a man with a heavy net and a 



CLESAR ENDS THE ROMAN REPUBLIC 



377 



A"^IAMX« 




Gladiatorial Combat. 

From a Pompeian Mosaic. The Net-man has Suc- 
ceeded in Snaring his opponent, but is himself Thrown 
and Wounded. The letters read, "Astianax Con- 
quered, Kalendio was Slain." 



trident would be pitted against one who carried only sword 
and shield. The cost and cruelty of these shows ma} r be 
imagined from the account of Caesar's preparations for a 
public show when he 
was :unning for the 
aedileship in 65 b. c. 
It is stated that he 
exhibited on this oc- 
casion 320 pairs of 
gladiators. 

473. The Hunts of 
Wild Beasts. — The 
love of the sight of 
blood aroused by 
these duels was fur- 
ther satisfied by the 
hunts of wild beasts in the arena. When Pompey and Csesar 
were striving for the mastery, Pompey erected, at his own 
expense, an immense theater which he dedicated to the 
Roman people. The opening, in 55 b. c, was celebrated with 
games on a scale of magnificence unknown before that day. 
Cicero was present and has described them to a friend in a 
letter which we still have. He first criticises the tragedies 
produced, stating that they were not enjoyable because of 
the exaggerated stage-setting: 

For what pleasure can there be in seeing 600 mules used in the 
tragedy Chjtemestra, or 3,000 mixing bowls in the Trojan Horse, 
or gay-colored armor of infantry or cavalry in some battle? 
There remain the two wild-beast hunts, lasting five days, 
magnificent — no one denies that — but what pleasure can 
there be for a refined man when a weak man is torn 
by a powerful wild animal or some splendid animal is 
transfixed with a hunting spear ? The last day was that 
of the elephants, which aroused great wonder on the part 
of the vulgar throng, but little pleasure. Nay, there was 
even a certain feeling of pity aroused by the sight and a sort 
of belief that that animal has something in common with 
the human race. 



378 THE STORY OF ROME 

It is a pleasure to know that there wore men at that time, 
like Cicero, who saw only brutality in the games of the 
arena. 

References for Outside Beading 

Plutarch, Lives of Pompey and Ca?sar, Botsford, v .7 . pp. 

211>218; Munro, S B v. pp. 124-142; Abbott. Short History of 

Rome, pp. 164-179; Pelham, Outlines i s wry, pp. 333-356; 

Taylor. Constitutional and Political h s ch. 15; How and Leigh, 

pp. 526-551; Oman. S s smen, pp. 324-340; Strachan- 

Davidson, / \ ch. 11-12; Warde-Fowler, Julius < 

ch. L4-19; V\ S Davis, .1 Friend of Catsar, Merivale, 7V t - Roman .' - 
umciraUs. ch. 6-8; Church, Roma the /) • 

Famous passages from the authors mentioned will be found in 
Laing's M is ec* s of I • 63-197. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Caress of \ Roman Student Abbott. S 

inAndei R .op 191-214; Church, R s / 

( ' a ro, ch. _ 
'2. The Death of Cjesab botsford. S pp. 216-218; 

Plutarch, Ccesar, ch. 61-69, and Brutus, ch. 8-18 

3. The Roman Circus. -Johnston, V'-V /'■ 

PP. 226-264. 

4. Women wo Public Ajffaxrs under the Roman Republic, — ■ 

Article with this title in s - M : for September, 1909. 

5. Cicero a no his Weai ran Friend, Attocus. — Church, Ro 

in '■ i Days of Oct ro. oh. 1 b 



CHAPTER XXXV 
AUGUSTUS AXD THE FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 



474. Confusion at Caesar's Death —The assassination of 
Caesar brought confusion and terror to the city. Ho had 
not made definite arrangement for a successor to his political 
power in the event of his death. His schemes for the reor- 
ganization of the state were, therefore, shattered when he 
fell at the base of Pompey's statue. Fifteen years later they 
were taken up by his grand-nephew, Gaius Octavius, and 
carried to completion, though upon a 

somewhat different plan. The Senate, 
in fear o( a proscription, voted to 
the assassins those provinces which 
Caesar hail intended them to have, 
Syria to Cassius and Macedonia to 
Brutus. At the funeral oi Caesar, the 
consul Marcus Antonius delivered 
the funeral oration over his body. 
Here the hatred o( the city plebs 
against the murderers o\' Caesar, their 
benefactor, broke out into violence, 
and the " liberators " tied from the 
city in alarm. 

475. Antonius and Octavius. — 
They left the city in the hands of An- 
tonius. who had seized upon Caesar's 
will and professed to be carrying out 
his plans. It soon appeared that he 

was aiming to take for himself the position and power which 
Caesar had so ably held. But soon a new factor appeared 
to confuse still more the troubled situation at Rome. This 
was a young man of eighteen years, a grand-nephew and 
favorite of Caesar. Gaius Octavius, who had been named in 




Tur Yoi nu ri OCTAVIUS 

(Attgusti a Casab). 



380 THE STORY OF ROME 

Caesar's will as his adopted son and the heir to his fortune. 
From Apollonia in Illyria, where he was pursuing his studies, 
he hastened to Italy to enter upon this inheritance. He 
took the name of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus, but we 
shall know him as Octavius until he receives the title of 
Augustus. 

Assisted by two devoted and able friends, Agrippa and 
Maecenas, Octavius called upon the veterans of Caesar, who 
were settled in southern Italy, to rally round him for the 
defense of the Republic. Antonius also tried to win them 
over, but Caesar's name drew them, like a magnet, under 
Octavius' standards. 

476. Civil War. — In the confusion of the succeeding 
months, young Octavius played the game of politics with the 
coolness of a veteran. In order to check the ambitions of 
Antonius, the aged orator Cicero came out upon the side of 
Caesar's heir. He thought to use Octavius to reestablish the 
Senate's power and then throw him aside. Antonius was 
defeated in battle by the Senate's forces, aided by Octavius, 
in northern Italy. When the Senate tried to set Octavius 
aside, as Cicero had planned, Octavius 
made his peace with Antonius, marched 
upon Rome, as Caesar had done, and had 
himself elected consul lor the year 42 b. c. 
477. The Second Triumvirate. — Mar- 
cus Antonius, Lepidus, the governor of 
Narbonese Gaul and upper Spain, and 
Octavius then formed a combination U)r 
Marcus Antonius. their mutual advantage. Their combined 
From a Roman Coin. strength enabled them to force the Senate 
to appoint them as a board of three to 
reorganize the state. This appointment was to last for five 
years, and gave them all the powers of dictators. Because 
of Lepidus' weakness, the real power lay with the two other 
members. 

The triumvirs began their rule with the horrors of a pro- 
scription. Edicts were posted in the forum which, offered 
a reward for the death of any person listed upon them. 




AUGUSTUS AND THE FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 381 

Livy states that 130 senators were named, and many 
knights. Antonius insisted on the death of Cicero, who in 
the year after Caesar's death had attacked him before the 
Senate in bold and powerful language. The hatred of 
Antonius pursued him even after the soldiers had found 
him out and slain him. For his head and hands were 
nailed to the rostrum at Home, where his eloquence had so 
often swayed the Roman people. 

The republican leaders, Brutus and Cassius, had fled from 
Rome to their provinces in the East. Here they had 
gathered their forces (42 B. C.) and were awaiting the attack 
of the triumvirs. At Philippi in Macedon they were met 
by the legions of Antonius and Octavius 
and suffered defeat. In their despair the 
two " liberators " took their own lives, 
and the attempt to restore the Republic 
came to an end. 

478. Rule of the Triumvirs.— In the 
division of the power over the empire 
which now lay at the feet of the triumvirs, 

the indolent LepidllS plays but a sorry Egyptian Copper Coin 

r x ^ J with the Head op 

part. He was soon deprived even of Cleopatra. 

Africa, the province given him by his 

abler colleagues. Antonius and Octavius halved the empire, 

the former taking all east of Illyria, the latter all the 

west. 

In the East, Antonius met Cleopat ra, Queen of Egypt, who 
had in earlier years fascinated even Julius Csesar. To her 
charms Antonius fell an easy victim. He squandered his 
time and the money of the state in luxurious revels at Alex- 
andria. The Romans were shocked to hear that Cleopatra, 
ruler of a Roman dependency, was publicly called " Queen 
of Queens " by Antonius. The rumor spread abroad that 
he intended to make her empress of the East, even queen 
of Rome itself. The decent life of Octavius at Rome, the 
moderation he showed to his enemies, his care for the pub- 
lic welfare, contrasted sharply with the wild extravagance 
of Antonius. 




382 THE STORY OF ROME 

479. Battle of Actium, — At last the outraged Senate de- 
clared war upon Cleopatra (31 B.C.). The forces of the 
East under Antonius and Cleopatra, and those of the West, 
under Octavius and Agrippa, met in a naval battle at 
Actium, on the coast of Epirus. In the midst of the fight 
Cleopatra suddenly sailed away in flight with her sixty gal- 
leys, and Antonius followed. The battle waged fiercely for 
some time, but resulted in the utter destruction of Anto- 
nius' fleet. Besieged in Alexandria by his enemy, and de- 
serted by his troops, Antonius committed suicide. Cleo- 
patra soon learned that Octavius was impervious to her 
charms as well as to her prayers. In order to avoid the 
disgrace of being led a captive through the streets of Rome 
in the triumphal procession of Octavius, the proud queen 
contrived to kill herself. Even Plutarch did not know 
whether this was by the bite of a poisonous snake, the asp, 
or by some other poison. 

480. The Beginning of the Empire. — Octavius was now 
master of the Roman world. Peace ruled throughout the 
confines of this world, which for sixty years had been rent 
by civil wars. The task before Octavius was to make this 
peace a permanent one, by making his own power perma- 
nent. To accomplish this task, it was necessary to destroy 
the outworn republican forms, without arousing the preju- 
dices of the Roman nobles and people. 

Skillfully he set about his task. In January of 27 b. c. he 
resigned the triumviral powers which he had held for 15 
years. To use his own words: "I transferred the Republic 
from my power to the will of the Senate and people of Rome. 
For which good service on my part I was by decree of the 
Senate called by the name of Augustus." This so-called 
"restoration of the Republic" actually marks the beginning 
of the Empire. From this time on we may properly call 
Octavius by his title Augustus (the august), a term which the 
Romans before this had used only with reference to their gods. 

481. The Powers Given to Augustus. — By a series of special 
grants, the Senate gave Augustus powers which made him 
actual monarch of the state. Chief of these was the pro- 



AUGUSTUS AND THE FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 383 

consular power over the frontier provinces, in which almost 
all the legions were stationed, Spain, Gaul, and Syria. With 
these provinces and their armies under his control, the Em- 
peror, as he must now be called, could work without fear of 
any serious insurrection against him. This proconsular and 
military power came, in later years, to be expressed in the 
term Imperator. It is the real pillar of his position. With- 
out the armies at his back, Augustus could not have main- 
tained himself. The Emperor took and administered Egypt 
practically as his own estate, because of the immense stretch 
of fertile land there which had come to him or had been 
confiscated by him from the holdings of his opponents. 
In the fertile lands of Syria, too, the private holdings of 
Augustus were very large. 

By another special decree he was granted all the powers 
of the tribunes, which gave him several rights, namely, the 
right to call the Senate together, and to place business 
before it. It also gave him the right of the tribunes to veto, 
if he pleased, any laws passed in the Senate. This "trib- 
unician power" was also made to include other special 
privileges heaped upon Augustus by the Senate. It became 
the name which covered his control of civil affairs in Rome, 
as his proconsular title expressed his rule outside of Italy. 
As leader of the Senate and of the Roman people, he was 
called the Princeps or Prince, which means "the first citizen 
of the state." 

Upon the death of Lepidus in 12 b. c, Augustus took the 
office of Pontifex Maximus for life. This made him head of 
the religious affairs of the state. Augustus was now head 
of the armies of the state, as Imperator; he was head of 
its religion, as Pontifex Maximus; the title of Prince sym- 
bolized his leadership in the civil administration, which the 
tribunician dignity gave him; he was, in cases coming from 
his own provinces, court of last appeal above the governors 
whom he appointed. So he combined military, religious, 
civil, and judicial powers in his single hand. It was a power 
equal to that of a king; but he did not dare to assume that 

title. 

25 



384 THE STORY OF ROME 

482. Powers of the Assembly. — The old republican officials 
continued to be elected in the assemblies of the people. 
But the choice of candidates in the important offices was 
restricted to men nominated by the Emperor. Although 
the assemblies still elected some of the magistrates and passed 
an occasional law, we may well regard them as dead institu- 
tions, a mere form, after the year 27 b. c. 

483. Powers of the Senate. — The Senate retained more of 
its old privileges. It advised with the Prince. The sena- 
torial provinces were under its control. It issued decrees as 
of old; but the veto power of the Emperor gave him the 
right to check any legislation which displeased him. His 
title of Princeps, chief citizen of the state and leader of 
the Senate, covered the right to introduce new laws. Al- 
though he did not take the censor's office, he pruned and 
filled up the Senate with men willing to do his bidding. It 
is apparent that the shadow of the Emperor's might stretched 
over the Senate too. 

Theoretically, the old republican idea still existed that 
the power of the state was vested in the Senate. They voted 
these extraordinary powers to Augustus, as they had voted 
unusual powers to Pompey under the Gabinian and Manilian 
laws. At the death of Augustus these powers should, ac- 
cording to the old idea, return to the Senate again. Upon 
this side the relation of the Prince and Senate was not 
clearly determined. The situation allowed the possibility 
that the Senate might return to its old position upon the 
death of the Emperor. 

484. The Administration of the Provinces. — The Roman 
Republic had utterly failed to do its duty of ruling justly 
that territory which had been added to it during 200 years 
of conquest. To the remedying of this fault Augustus ap- 
plied his talents for organization. He retained under his 
own direct rule the provinces along the frontiers which gave 
the greatest trouble and demanded the most tactful and able 
governors. These were called the " imperial provinces." 
The governors of these provinces received a definite yearly 
salary for their services, and could be retained in office year 



AUGUSTUS AND THE FOUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 385 

after year. This is the beginning of an effective civil ser- 
vice in the Roman state, in which appointment and advance- 
ment depended upon ability and honesty, rather than upon 
the influence of birth and family connection. It helped 
wonderfully in giving a just rule and contentment to the 
provinces of the Empire. 

The senatorial provinces, as the rest were called, were 
still under the old form of government. The outgoing offi- 
cials at Rome governed them for a year's term, as proconsuls; 
but the Emperor could and did interfere in their government, 
as occasion demanded. 

485. Reforms in the State Finances. — Corresponding to 
the division into senatorial and imperial provinces, Augustus 
established a division in the state department of the finances. 
The old state treasury remained under the Senate's author- 
ity. Its income was from the poll-tax, or personal tax, upon 
Roman citizens, and from the land tax. The latter fell 
upon the provinces which had been conquered in war. 

Distinct from this was the new treasury of the Emperor, 
called the "fiscus." Into it came the rental from the state 
lands, from state mines and forests, and similar sources. 
The Emperor's power was greatly increased by the fact that 
he had this absolute control of a part of the state revenue, 
without responsibility to any other authority. 

The ability of Augustus as an organizer is shown in his 
attempt to regulate the expenses of the state. He gradually 
reduced the standing army until, at his death, it numbered 
but twenty-five legions. With the auxiliary troops which 
were made up of provincials, the number was about 250,000 
men. This must be regarded as a remarkably small army to 
protect the immense frontier of the Empire from barbarian 
invasion. The saving to the state, in the reorganization and 
reduction of the size of the army, was very great. 

486. Administration of Rome. — In order to protect his 
person, Augustus kept a body of nine cohorts, called the praeto- 
rian guard, in and about Rome. They were under the com- 
mand of the praetorian prefect, an official appointed by the 
Emperor. This position soon became a most powerful one. 



> 



THE STORY OF ROME 



Under the Republic, but little I been paid to 

the p of the citiiens of Koine by an at police 

service. Augustus took this duty also upon himself, lie 

7.000 watchmen, under charge of the 
ct of police, an of appointed by and responsible 
the Emperor. 

Italy was producing little grain at this time, and it was 
difficult to supply the immense city of Rome with enough 
grain at reasonable prices. Augustus undertook to over- 
see this branch of the city's welfare. He appointed a pre- 
fect of the grain supply, an officer under his own control, 
whose duty was to superintend and regulate the bringing 
of grain from Eg> The expenses of this bureau v. 

paid from the tiscus. In this way. the Emperor controlled 
the food supply of the populace of Rome, and the people 

were dependent upon him 
rather than upon the Senate 
and the city magistrates, as 
they had been under the Re- 
lic, 
4S7. Rome Beautified.— It 
was fitting that the beauty of 
the capital city of the world 
should correspond to the greatness of the new empire. The 
old Roman forum was no longer large enough to meet the 
demands of the business of this world-center. Accordingly 
Augustus built a new forum. He repaired S'J temples of the 
gods, repaired the neglected sewers, and increased the 
water-supply. 

The city was further beautified with magnificent buildings 
called basilicas, for holding law courts, and with theaters and 
libraries. Rut the Emperor's palace was remarkable for its 
democratic simplicity. Well might Augustus boast in his 
later years that he had "left Rome a city of marble, which he 
had received as a city of brick.*' 

4SS. Attempt to Reform Society. The best foundation for 
a state is a strong people and a society morally sound. 
Augustus recognized tins fact and set out with a firm de- 




L S Pas * - 



AUGUSTUS WO THE POUNDING OF HIK EMPIR] 87 



^ 




termination to remedy the weaknesses and vices oi the soci< ty 
of his day. He thought it necessary to check the growing 
Looseness oi morals and the breaking up of the old purity 
of Roman family life. ' This was to be done by returning 
to the simple life and manners of old Homo and by a 
religious revival oi the Roman state worship. 

Through the pons of the literary men devoted to him, 
Augustus preached a simpler living, and the need oi a 
healthy public morality to maintain a healthy stato. Ho 
passed laws which 
made it more difficult 
to obtain divorces, 
and ot hers which 
tended to encourage 
marriage and the 
rearing oi children. 
These laws were 
ma do necessary by 
the increasing num- 
ber oi mon who did ^ 
not marry, and by the * 
fear that the popula- 
tion of the country 
was decreasing. 

The repairing of old temples, and the building of now. 
testify to Augustus' interest in the old religion. Uc himself 
took the office of Pom if ox Maximus. and by his personal 
attention to pious observance ho tried to load others to piety. 
Such legislation shows that Augustus clearly saw the weak- 
nesses of his time. They show that ho was sincere in his 
desire to build tip a strong, firm stato: but it is impossiblo 
to make a people either good or religious by passing laws. 
The effect of Augustus' work in this hold was not lasting, 
but it doos oall forth our admiration. 

489. The Borders of the Empire.— Augustus applied the 
same conservative common-sense to the question of the bor- 
ders of the Empire that ho had used in dealing with the 
problems of its political organization. He saw that the 



Paxi X AS S HDS T 

oror 






THE STOKE OF ROME 



domain under Rome's control was already so enormous, 
that any further extension was not desirable. In the East 
he left Armenia half independent, although he might have 
listed it among the provinces. It was to serve as a buffer 
state between the eastern border of the Empire and the hos- 







' \ ■ n Roman ] '. stus 



tile kingdom of the Parthians. The cataracts of the Nile 
and the desert in northern Africa set a natural limit to the 
territory of the Empire in the South. In the West and North, 
the Atlantic Ocean and the Rhine River were boundaries set 
by nature. The Danube River was to be the northern fron- 
tier in Europe. Thus the Empire had a series of bounda- 
ries which could be naturally and easily defended, and Augus- 
tus left the command that his sueeessors should not go 
beyond these. 

A bitter lesson had taught Augustus the difficulty of con- 
quering the Germans across the Rhine. He had desired to 
incorporate all of the German territory to the Kibe River, in 
order to remove the pressure of the barbarians upon the 



AUGUSTUS AND rilK POUNDING OF THE EMPIRE 389 

frontier oi Gaul, and to give him hot tor connections with the 
Danube frontier than wereoffered by the Rhino River. For 
years his host generals worked at the conquest oi t ho German 
territory; but in the year 9 a. p.. the Emperor's hopes were 
dashed to pieces. The commander-in-chief o( his troops in 
Gaul, Quintilius Varus, was defeated in the forests o\ Ger- 
many, and his army o\ 20,000 men was annihilated. When 
the news came to Rome, so the historian Suetonius tolls us, 
Augustus was wild with grief. For months afterward the 
cry kept escaping his lips, '* Quintilius Varus, give me back 
my Legions.' 1 

490. The Succession. Augustus desired that the im- 
perial power which he held should become hereditary in his 
family. Time and again Fate seemed to thwart the plans 
he formed. Early in his rule his nephew Marcellus was his 
choice as successor. Upon the death oi Marcellus in 23 b, c, 
the choice devolved upon Marcus Agrippa, the emperor's life- 
long friend. Aft or the birth o( the two sons oi Agrippa and 
Julia, the daughter oi Augustus, these two boys were trained 
for the succession. When they died in early manhood, 
Augustus was forced to turn to his stepson, Tiberius, a man 
whom Augustus disliked, although he recognised his groat 
abilities. 

491. Death of Augustus, 14 A. D. In the last year o( his 
life, Augustus composed an account of his actions as ruler 
of the Roman world, which was published upon two bronze 
tablets set up in Homo. A copy of this, which was found in- 
scribed on the walls o( a temple o( Augustus, in a little village 
of Asia Minor, is still oxtant. It is called the Monument oi 
Ancyra, aft or the name of the town in which it was dis- 
covered. 'This inscription gives us from Augustus' own 
hand a statement o( the things which he had done for the 
stato. 

>\ oil might he be proud of his life-work! For Augustus 
Csesar stands out, among the groat statesmen in history. 
as a man whoso work that oi founding the Roman Em- 
pire- was a real benefaction to the people oi the Mediterra- 
nean world for several centuries after his death. Ho sot in 



390 THE STORY OF ROME 

motion the machinery of a great political organization, and 
for two centuries it ran smoothly. The form of the Roman 
Empire was Augustus' work, although the ideas were those 
of a greater mind, that of Julius Ca3sar. When the day of 
his death came, Augustus asked those about him if he had 
played his part well in the comedy of life, and requested 
them to applaud him if they thought so, as he left the stage 
of life. We too may applaud the man for his patient and 
skillful service to the Roman state. 

References for Outside Reading 

Abbott, Short History of Rome, pp. 173-177, 180-185; Botsford, 
Story of Rome, pp. 219-226, 233-241; Munro, Source Book, pp. 143-148, 
221-223; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, pp. 357-470; Taylor, 
Constitutional and Political History, ch. 16-18; Jones, The Roman 
Empire, ch. 1; Davis, Outline History of the Roman Empire, ch. 1; 
Bury, Student's Roman Empire, ch. 1-10; Firth, Augustus C&sar; 
Seignobos, History of the Roman People, ch. 18; Capes, Early Empire, 
ch. 1. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Cicero and Marcus Antonius. — Church, Roman Life in the Days 

of Cicero, ch. 15. 

2. Houses of the Rich in Cicero's Time. — Fowler, Social Life at 

Rome, ch. 8. 
3". Antonius and Cleopatra. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 225-227; 
Plutarch, Life of Antony, ch. 25-29, 61-87. 

4. The Battle of Actium. — Plutarch, Life of Antony, ch. 53-68. 

5. The Roman Lady. — Article by Emily James Putnam in Atlantic 

Monthly, June, 1910. 



CHAPTER XXXVI 
THE IMPERIAL LITERATURE AND SPIRIT 

492. Guiding Spirit of the Literature. — The literature of 
the age of Augustus is so characteristic of the spirit of 
the time, so typical an expression of the views and long- 
ings of the early empire, that it cannot be passed by. Under 
the patronage of Maecenas and Asinius Pollio, the writers of 
this time were brought closely in touch with Augustus himself. 
Their works were a medium through which the Emperor's 
ideas were presented to the reading public. In the most 
charming poetry which Latin literature ever developed, in 
the short poems of Horace, men found the Emperor's hopes for 
the restoration of the old solidity of the Roman character. In 
Vergil's JEneid, one of the world's great epic poems, the origin 
of the Roman state was told in resonant and dignified verses. 
So excellent was the work then produced that the period of 
Augustus has been called the Golden Age of Latin Literature. 

493. Publius Vergilius Maro (died 19 B. C). — Vergil was 
the son of a farm-owner, and was born near Mantua, in the 
old Gallic territory of northern Italy. After the battle of 
Philippi, Vergil's farm was confiscated together with a large 
tract of territory in northern Italy, to provide land for the 
veterans who had fought with the triumvirs. Through this 
circumstance Vergil became acquainted with Asinius Pollio, 
who was then in charge of that territory for Antonius. 
Pollio was deeply interested in literature, and was himself a 
writer and literary critic. He was convinced of the talent 
of the young poet and introduced him into the circle of poets 
favored by the rising young Augustus. 

494. The Eclogues. — The first book of Vergil which appeared 
was a series of shepherd poems called the Eclogues. These 
are idyls, in which the persons represented as talking are 
herdsmen, but not the real shepherds who watched their flocks 

391 



392 THE STORY OF ROME 

through monotonous days on the hills. They are artificial 

personages, imitated from the pastoral poetry of the Greek 
poet, Theocritus. They sing o( their love affairs and their 
troubles. The poet has pictured many of his own acquaint- 
ances in the forms of these shepherds. Vergil's imitations of 
the Greek poet are inferior to the original; yet they were often 
imitated by the English poets of the early 18th century. 

495. Georgics. — Vergil's love of the country and its scenes 
found much better expression in his Georgics. These poems 
treat of the work of the farm, the growing of fruit-trees. 
the hiving of bees, and the breeding of cattle. The Romans 
had always taken a great interest in country life and its work. 
This interest was shown in Gate's work upon agriculture. 
Vergil did not pretend to give scientific direction upon these 
subjects to men seeking for information. He idealized, in 
beautiful verses, the country life which he so thoroughly knew 
and loved. This poetry met the longing for quiet and peace 
which the people of Italy felt after the many years of civil 
war. It became very popular and brought Vergil great fame. 

496. The -ffineid. — The poet's talents were then called 
upon to fulfill another and far more difficult task. This was 
the writing of an epic poem which should glorify the great 
Empire over which Augustus now reigned supreme. The 
Roman Republic had had its epics, but they were old-fash- 
ioned and rude in form. Greece had its famous national 
epics, the Iliad and the Odyssey. Should not mighty Rome 
have a great national poem corresponding to the greatness 
of her empire*? 

In response to a feeling of this kind, and at the urgent 
request of Augustus, Vergil began work upon his long 
poem. He was too much of an artist to try to put the 
deeds of Augustus into verse. He chose to write upon the 
founding of Rome, and celebrate the Empire by telling oi 
its beginnings. According to a Legend, Rome had been 
founded by /Eneas, son oi Anchises and the goddess Warns, 
who escaped from Troy when it was taken by the Greeks. 
The Juia'd, as the epic is called, relates, in verse, how 
Troy fell and how .Eneas escaped in his ships. After many 



THE IMPERIAL LITERATURE AND SPIRIT 393 

mishaps and adventures, he came to Italy, and founded a 
city there which became the mother of the city of Home. 

The Julian house, to which Caesar and Augustus belonged, 
is traced back bo the goddess Venus, through lulus, sou of 
^Eneas. The glorification of the Empire, and, less directly, the 
praise i^ Augustus himself, are the central points of the poem. 

497. Roman Spirit of the Poem. — The character of linens, 
as some critics declare, is developed by Vergil as the poem 
progresses. At first he is a Greek, with the weakness and 
indecision o( the Greek people as they (hen seemed to the 
Romans. But he gradually comes to see his divine mission, 
which is to found the Roman race. The great destiny of 
this race is foretold to him. At tin 4 end of the poem he has 
changed into the ideal Roman. He shows those traits of 
constancy to duty and endurance of bad fortune which 
made the Roman people so masterful. 

Most of the Latin literature is patterned after some model 
in Greek literature. To this fact Vergil's Mneid is no ex- 
ception. The wanderings of .Eneas, in the first six books, 
are rather closely copied after Homer's Odyssey. The last 
six books correspond, in a general way, to the Iliad. Many 
of Vergil's poetic expressions are taken directly from Homer; 
yet we must chiefly admire the Roman spirit which Vergil 
has breathed into the work. No modern historian, looking 
back upon all that Rome has done and has stood for, could 
sum up her destiny better than Vergil did in the following 
lines: 

Let others better mold the running mass 
Of metals, and inform the breathing brass, 

And soften into flesh a marble face 1 ; 

Plead better at t ho bar; describe the skies, 
And when the stars descend, and when they rise. 
Hut Rome! 'Tis thine alone with awful sway, 
To rule mankind, and make the world obey, 
Disposing peace and war thy own majestic way; 
To tame the proud, the fettered slave to free: 
These are imperial arts and worthy thee. 

(Dryden's < ranslation.) 



394 



nil". STOKY OF ROME 




He u> of Hob m e from 

Med vi -. ion of ran 
Third Crn tort. 



498. Quintus Horatius Flaccus. Horace was the son of a 
freedman of Apulia in southern [taly. He was educated 

in Homo and later at the university in Athens. While he 
was following out his studies there. Caesar's assassination 
occurred. Horace was an ardent republican and fought 

with the army oi Brutus until the de- 
feat at Philippi. Naturally his oppor- 
tunity oi advancement in the following 
years at Home, under the triumvirs, 
was very poor. Fortunately. VergU 
\^ ) - '■_/ fifjfS began to appreciate his ability as a 

poet, and made him acquainted with 
Maecenas. The acquaintance ripened 
into a fast friendship, and Horace's 
days oi poverty and struggle were over, 
499. The Epistles and Satires. The 
satire is a form of literature in which the writer holds up to 
ridicule the weaknesses and vices of the world and the men 
about him. Satire written in verse form is the one 
branch of literature which the Romans developed with- 
out Greek models and Greek inspiration. In it Horace 
was very successful. With great humor he mocks at 
the weaknesses of the men about him: but he is saved 
from bitterness by his ability to laugh at himself, as 
well as at others, and to acknowledge his own weak- 
nesses. 

In the Epistles, which are letters in verse form ad- 
dressed to his friends, Horace expresses his thoughts 
on many topics. They are the work of his later years, 
and show keen powers oi observation and criticism, but a 
gentle spirit. 

500. The Odes. -The fame oi Horace is kept alive 
chiefly through his four books oi Odes. These are 
short lyric poems, inspired by a mood oi the writer, 
or by some political event oi importance. They are 
written in the intricate metrical forms which Horace 
skillfully adapted front the best oi the Greek lyric 
poets. Archilochus. Alcanis. and Sappho. When Vergil 



Till: IMPERIAL LITERATURE AND SPIRIT 395 

sailed for Greece, Horace wrote a prayer for his safety, 
which begins: 

Thus may Cyprus' heavenly queen, 

Thus Helen's brethren, stars o( brightesl sheen, 

Guide thee! May the Sire of wind 

Each truant gale, save only Zephyr, bind! 

So do thou, fair ship, that ow'st 

Vergil, thy precious freight, to Attic coast, 

Sat\> restore thy loan ami whole, 

And save from death the partner o( my soul! 

(Conington's t ranslal ion.) 

When the news o( Cleopatra's suicide reached 

Rome, Horace burst into a song o( joy which shows 

the dread in which she and Antony were held at 
Rome, 

Now drink we deep, now featly (read 
A measure; now before each shrine 
With Salian leasts the table spread; 
The time invites us, comrades mine. 

(Conington's translation. 1 ) 

But with a kind of admiration he tells how she preferred death 
to the disgrace of appearing in a triumphal procession at 
Rome. 

In other odes, especially in the first six of the 
third hook, Horace warns the Romans that they are 
not so virtuous nor so brave as were the Romans 
o( old who founded the Empire. Here the service 
of Horace's art to the plans o{ Augustus for reform is 
unmistakable. 

To suffer hardness with good cheer, 

In sternest school o( warfare bred, 

Our youth should learn; let steed and spear 

Make him one day the Part loan's dread; 

Told skies, keen perils brace his life. 



396 THE STORY OF ROME 

In the following lines he trios to bring back the Romans to 
worship the gods: 

Your father's guilt you still must pay, 
Till, Roman, you restore each shrine, 
Each temple, moldering in decay, 
And smoke-grimed statue, scarce divine. 

(Conington's translal ion.) 

The eternal charm of Horace can scarcely be better shown 
than by the fact that one of his odes, the famous Integer 
Vitce, still appears in our college song hooks and is sung to- 
day by college students. 

501. Livy. — Vergil, in his dfineid, sang the glory of the new 
imperial period. In history, Livy closed the old period and 
brought in the new, by writing the history o\' Rome from 
the earliest times to the year 9 v. n. Like the ASneid, his 
history is a glorification of Rome's greatness. It was a co- 
lossal work, upon which Livy spent 40 years of labor. Of 
the 112 books which it originally contained, we have only 34, 
covering the very earliest period and a portion of the Car- 
thaginian wars; of the rest we have only an outline, a mere 
table of contents. Livy was not a scientific historian. 
His judgment was often bad to selecting the authors and 
accounts of past events which he should follow. He is 
interested more in the literary form of the whole work, 
than in ferreting out the truth o{ single details. Yet his 
history immediately gained an unbounded popularity and 
has always been regarded as one of the world's great his- 
torical products. 

502. Ovid. — Ovid, born in 43 B.C., the year o( Cicero's 
death, is a poet of quite a different stamp from Vergil and 
Horace. They represent the spirit o( the new Empire with 
all its thankfulness for the peace which Augustus and his 
rule had brought. Ovid is the poet of Rome, the great 
world-capital, and of its brilliant but immoral society. His 
verse shows many of the very tendencies toward vicious 
living which Augustus was most eager to stop. Hence it 
could not be pleasing to the Emperor. For some reason 



J J f J ; IMPERIAL LITERATURE AND SPIRIT 



397 



unknown to us, Ovid was banished by the Emperor in 8 a. d., 
possibly because of the immoral tone of some of his verse. 

The Metamor pho.se s of Ovid arc a cycle of mythological 
stories in which the heroes are changed from their human 
forms into the shape of trees, stones, beasts, or birds. The 
Herald* arc a scries of epistles which the heroines of old 
write to their lovers or husbands. Ovid imagines what 
Penelope wrote to Odysseus, or what Helen wrote 
to Paris. The Fasti is a calendar of Roman festivals, 
giving the legends connected with the origin of each 
festival. 

503. Libraries and Book-making. — The number of the 
authors who were busied with literature in the first century 
b. c. shows that the number of people who read poetry and 
prose was very great. Since the time of Sulla, most of the 
educated men 

of Rome had "^vS^^'^?F~~ ""' : S* ' ~M 
had private li- 
braries, some of 
them stolen in 
the Greek cities 
of Asia Minor, 
others bought 
in Athens. 

In Cicero's 
time the de- 
mand for books 

became so great at Rome that the copying and selling of them 
became a regular business. The publishers used a great num- 
ber of slaves, trained to write very rapidly and accurately, to 
make copies of the books from the dictation of a reader. As 
slave labor was cheap, the books, written on paper rolls, did 
not cost a great deal, although the price was naturally higher 
than that of books turned out to-day by our modern machin- 
ery. A roll containing about 800 verses, equal to thirty pages 
of a modern book, cost twenty, thirty, fifty cents or one dol- 
lar, depending upon the care and beauty of the writing. 
The authors did not receive any money from the publishers, 




A Roman School. 
From a Grave Monument Found in 1885. 



398 



THE STORY OF ROME 




Roman Writing Materials. 
From a Pompeian Wall-painting. 



as do our literary men to-day, but lived from gifts be- 
stowed upon them by wealthy patrons. 

The interest in reading had become so general in the time 

of the dictatorship 
of Julius Caesar, 
that he proposed 
establishing a pub- 
lic library at Rome. 
H i s assassination 
put a stop to the 
plan ; but under 
Augustus it was 
carried out under the direction of Vergil's patron, Asinius 
Pollio. In the first century a. d., it was not unusual for 
wealthy men to endow public libraries, and thus they spread 
even into the small towns of Italy and the provinces. 

References for Outside Reading 

Bury. Student's Roman Empire, ch. 11; Fowler, History of Roman 
Literature, Book 2; Laing, Masterpieces of Latin Literature, pp. 199- 
386; Lawton, Classical Latin Literature, ch. 20-25; Mackail, Latin 
Literature, Book 2, ch. 1-5. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The Manufacture of Books. — Johnston, Private Life of the Ro- 

mans, pp. 291-298. 

2. The Story of tEneas' Wanderings. — Introduction to Vergil's 

Mneid; Fowler, History of Roman Literature, pp. 109-112; Wilkins, 
Roman Literature, pp. 87-92. 

3. Roman Children and their Training. — Johnston, Private Life of 

the Romans, ch. 4; Church, Roman Life in the Days of Cicero, ch. 
1; Preston and Dodge, Private Life of the Romans, pp. 57-66; 
Munro, Source Book of Roman History, pp. 195-197. 

4. The Destiny of Rome as Foretold to ^Eneas. — Vergil, Mneid, 

Book VI, lines 679-901 (in Laing, Masterpieces, pp. 258-272). 

5. Horace and the Bore. — Horace, Satires, I, 9; Laing, Master- 

pieces, pp. 295-299. 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMPIRE DURING THE 
FIRST CENTURY 

504. Survey of the First Century A. D. — During the first 
century of the Christian era, the Roman Empire expanded 
and developed along the lines set by Augustus. The most 
essential features of the history of this century may be 
stated as follows: 

1. Externally, the Empire expanded until it included all the 
countries within the natural boundaries outlined by Augustus. 
This meant the addition of Thrace, the Rhine regions, Maure- 
tania, and Britain. 

2. Internally, the power of the emperors continually increased. 
The Assemblies practically ceased to meet, and the Senate 
became subservient to the emperor's wishes. The government 
was slowly changing into a complete monarchy. 

3. Peace reigned almost unbroken within the borders of the 
Empire for the entire period. The prosperity of the countries 
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea has probably never been 
so great, before or since, as during this century. 

4. The Greco-Italian civilization of Rome spread rapidly 
over all of Gaul and Spain. The cities of these lands were no 
longer backward and provincial. They had their schools, 
theaters, and amphitheaters. They were adorned with beautiful 
temples. Great aqueducts were built, supplying them with 
pure water. In fact, they became as cultured as Rome itself. 
This civilization spread also into the German territory along the 
Rhine, and into Britain. 

5. Roman citizenship began to spread in the provinces. 
Thereby the political differences between Rome, the capital 
city, Italy, the old part of the Empire, and the provinces, were 
gradually disappearing. 

26 399 




400 THE STORY OF ROME 

505. The Claudian Rulers, 14-68 A. D. — When Augustus 
died, there was no male child of the Julian line (the family 
of Gaius Julius Caesar) to follow him. He therefore adopted 
his stepson, Tiberius Claudius Nero, and it was the Claudian 

^^^xrr-^. nne wn i cn furnished the next four em- 

y^SlP^llw perors, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and 
^ K V ^^ Nero. The lives and deeds of these 
[c' /J; L "'j- emperors have been described by a liter- 

ary genius named Tacitus, who wrote the 
account of the Empire from Augustus to 
his own time (about 100 a. d.) in his 
Annals and Histories. Tacitus is so 
The inscription on the charming as a writer, so interested in 
clsarTugustus^nof tn e dramatic careers of the rulers, so 
th emtoTYm- mtus ' Im ' P re i u di ce d in favor of restoring the lost 
power of the Senate, that he makes an 
unsafe guide. Yet we have no other source so valuable 
upon the period. 

506. Tiberius, 14-37 A. D. — Tacitus depicts Tiberius, the 
successor of Augustus, as a stern and bloody tyrant. Stern, 
he was, but honest and forceful. His life had been a bitter 
one, because he was not liked by Augustus. In order to 
establish his line as the hereditary rulers of the Empire, 
Augustus had forced Tiberius to divorce his first wife and 
marry Augustus' daughter, Julia, a thoroughly bad woman. 

Tiberius carried on the policies of Augustus without 
change, maintaining order upon the borders of the Empire. 
In Rome he was hated, and the hatred resulted in plots 
against his life, which he put down without mercy. The 
soldiers who had served with him loved him, and the pro- 
vincials had every reason to praise his rule. It is to his 
credit that he put an end to the farcical elections of mag- 
istrates in the Assemblies at Rome, and gave these elections 
into the hands of the Senate. The action meant that pop- 
ular rule had entirely ceased at Rome. 

The reign of Tiberius is marked by one other event which 
created little stir in the wide Roman Empire at that time, 
but has been fraught with deep meaning in the development 



THE EMPIRE DURING THE FIRST CENTURY 401 








of mankind. This was the ministry and crucifixion of Jesus 
of Nazareth. 

507. The Emperor Claudius, 41-54 A. D. — Caligula, the 
next Emperor, was undoubtedly touched with insanity. 
There is not a single act 
of his reign which merits 
the student's attention. 
When he was assassi- 
nated, in 41 a. d., the 
praetorian guard sought 
for some one to put in the 
vacant seat, because they 
feared that the Senate 
would try to reestablish 
the Republic. If this were 
done the praetorians, who 
formed the body-guard 
of the emperors, would 
surely be sent from the 
city. As the praetorians 
ransacked the palace, they 
found a middle-aged man, 
a nephew of Tiberius, hid- 
ing behind a curtain in 
terror of his life. This 
man, Claudius, they car- 
ried to the barracks and 
hailed as emperor. 

Claudius seemed phys- 
ically and mentally unfit- 
ted for the high office which fell to him. He was lame; he 
stuttered in speech. Nevertheless, his conduct of the emperor's 
office was worthy of respect. This is partially due to his own 
honest love of hard work, partially to the council which ran 
the state for him. It consisted of four men who had raised 
themselves from slavery in the service of the imperial house- 
hold to high positions as private secretaries of Claudius. 
These four freedmen were Narcissus, secretary of corre- 



Restoration of the Villa of Tiberius 
in the Island of Capri. 

By C. Weichardt. 



402 THE STOKY OV HOME 

spondence; Pallas, the Emperor's financial secretary; Cal- 
listus, secretary o( petitions; and Polybius, director of the 
Emperor's studies. 

With the assistance of these men, Claudius did much to 
further the needs of the Empire. Britain was conquered, 
Thrace 1 and Mauretania added to the Empire as provinces. 
A great step was taken in bringing t ho provinces tip to the 
same level as Italy, by granting citizenship and the right to 
hold offices to some of the Gallic tribes. The water supply 
of Heme was bettered by building two immense aqueducts 
which poured a great quantity of pure water into the city. 
The ruins of these great aqueducts are still standing on the 
plains near Koine. 

508. Nero, 54 68 A. D.; the Rule of Seneca. — Nero, the 
stepson o( Claudius, obtained the position o( emperor 
through the scheming o( his mother Agrippina. The prae- 
torian guard was bribed to proclaim him ruler, although 
Claudius had a son who should by right have inherited the 
position. The selection o( Claudius and oi Nero shows how 
little power the Roman Senate had in determining the 
succession. - 

Nero was a cowardly weakling who loved to gain the 
applause o( the crowd by reciting poetry and driving in 
chariot races. For the stern duties o( the emperor's office, 
the hard work o( governing a great empire, he had little 
liking and less capacity. The real task oi administration 
was ably carried on by Seneca, a wealthy and educated 
Spaniard, who had been Nero's tutor. Beside Seneca as 
his chief assistant stood Burrus, prefect of the praetorian 
guard. Until the death of Burrusin 62 a. d., the Empire was 
well ruled. Then Nero took the reins in his own hands and 
gathered round him advisers of the vilest sort. The court 
life became vicious and extravagant. In order to meet his 
lavish expenses, Nero used any excuse to condemn wealthy 
men to death so that lie might confiscate their estates. In 
this way Seneca, among many others, nun his death. 

509. Nero's Reign and Death, 68 A. D.— The six years of 
Nero's rule after the retirement of Seneca passed like a wild 



THE EMPIRE DURING THE FIRST CENTURY 403 

and dreadful dream. In the year 64 a. d. the city caught 
fire and a Large portion o( it was burned. The rumor 
spread that Nero had started the tin 4 in order to be able to 
build Homo anew. The Emperor ami his advisers blamed 
it upon the Christians, then a new and small sed at Rome, 
and these innocent persons suffered torture and death by 
the Emperor's orders. 

Upon the ruins o\ the city arose a new Rome, built with 
all t he art which the Greeks had learned through the cen- 
turies of their progress. The streets were broad, with open 
squares here and there, and lined with colonnades to 
protect the people from sun and rain. Far better 
than in the days o( Augustus, the appearance of Home 
began to correspond to her position as the world's 
capital. 

In the heart of the city, upon ground which had an im- 
mense value, Nero built his famous palace, called the 
" Golden House," because o^i the amount o( gold ornament 
used in its decoration. Extending over a mile in length, 
the grounds contained ponds, woods, stretches o( green 
meadow, salt -water and fresh-water baths. To pay the 
enormous expenses o( this folly, Nero was forced to rob 
Italy and the provinces. Finally, the armies in the prov- 
inces could stand it no longer, and news came to Rome that 
there was rebellion in Gaul and Spain. Deserted by his 
flatterers, and condemned to death by the Senate, Nero 
finally plucked up courage to kill himself before his pursuers 
could reach him. 

510. The Year of Civil War, 68 69 B. C— As Nero had no 
children, there was no regular successor whom the Senate 
could choose as emperor, even if it had the power to do so. 
The office was open to the strongest claimant. A year of 
civil war passed before the question wavS definitely settled. 
First, the commander oi the army in Spain was made em- 
peror, but he was soon killed by the praetorian guards, who 
raised a favorite of their own to the imperial seat. Mean- 
time the army stationed along the Rhine had proclaimed 
their own leader, Vitellius, as emperor. They marched 



404 



THE STORY OF ROME 



into Italy and defeated the praetorian forces, and Vltellius 
took the title and power. 

The armies in the eastern provinces and those along the 
Danube were jealous of the importance assumed by the 
armies in the West, and they felt that they had as much 
right to name an emperor as any other army. So they 
declared their general, Titus Flavius Vespasianus, to be em- 
peror, marched into Italy, defeated the troops of the West, 
ami placed Vespasian firmly in the emperor's place. 

The year of the civil wars makes clear the following points, 
some of which are noted by the ancient historians: 

1. The lack of a regular method of choosing the emperor 
was a great weakness for the Empire. 

2. The armies could make and unmake emperors, and the 
Senate had little power in comparison with the leaders oi the 
troops. 

3. A man like Vespasian, who had done his work in the 
provinces ami was strong there, could become the ruler, far 
away from the city of Rome, and without considering the 
wishes oi its people. 

511. The Rule of the Flavian House, 69-96 A. D.: Ves- 
pasian. — The rule oi the Flavians — Vespasian. 09 -79 a. d.; 
Tittis. his elder son, 79-81 a. d. : Domitian, 

his younger son. 81-96 a. d. — was on the 
whole very good. Vespasian was a simple, 
direct, and honest soldier, the son of a 
tax-collector in a small town of Italy. He 
was the first emperor who could not claim 
descent from the old nobility oi Rome: 
and many stories tell of the homely, 
peasant wit with which he rebuked Bat- 
terers who wished to worship him as 
a god. 

The reorganization oi the state, bank- 
rupt by sinful waste tinder Nero, and shattered by the 
civil wars, marks Vespasian as a talented rider. He gave 
especial attention to the state finances, made up a deficit 




Coin with He md 
Vespasi \\. 

Tho Inscription roads: 
"Imperator Csesar Ves- 
pasian Augustus." 



THE KMPIRE DURING THE FIRST CENTURY L05 

amounting to two billions of dollars, and left the state in 
good financial condition. 

It had been customary for the Senate to declare the 
emperors gods after their death. When Vespasian felt 
death coming on he said to his friends whimsically: " I feel 
that 1 am becoming a god"; and when the hour of his death 
came, he had himself placed upon his feet, saying that an 
emperor must die standing. 

512. Growth of the Estates of the Emperors. — It is to 
Vespasian, in all probability, that the credit must be given 
for organizing the management of the immense estates in 
Italy, Asia, and northern Africa, which had gradually come 
to be personal property of the emperors, and the rental of 
which was paid into the fiscus. These estates had come into 
the emperor's possession in the following manner: 

The great generals" who conquered Asia Minor and Syria, 
and those who fought there in the civil wars, Pompey, 
Julius Caesar, Brutus and Cassius, Marcus Antonius, and, 
later, Augustus Caesar, had given to their friends immense 
tracts of the public domain, or sold great stretches of it in 
order to obtain money for their wars. In northern Africa 
the same process went on. Thus, the members of the aris- 
tocracy of the city of Rome, men like Lucullus and Maecenas, 
and, under the Empire, Seneca and others, had immense land 
holdings in the provinces or in Italy. In the proscriptions 
under the Second Triumvirate (43 B.C.), the estates of the 
proscribed were often confiscated by the triumvirs. When 
Antonius was defeated by Augustus Caesar, all these estates 
came into Augustus' hands. 

These lands were inherited by the later emperors, and 
were increased by the numerous bequests of wealthy friends 
who left their property to the Caesars. Maecenas left to 
Augustus his gardens in Rome, and his vast estates in Egypt. 
The poet Vergil bequeathed to Augustus one-fourth of his 
estate, the whole of which was valued at 10,000,000 ses- 
terces. 1 When Seneca committed suicide, his estates in 

x The sesterce is generally reckoned to be worth about five cents. 



406 THE STORY OF ROME 

Egypt were confiscated by Nero, and were added to the 
"emperor's domain." 

513. Organization of the Emperor's Domains. — It was 
apparent to the emperors who ruled during the first century 
a. d., that they must breakup, wherever possible, the great 
land holdings of the wealthy senators of Rome and the great 
proprietors in the provinces. Otherwise, these landed 
aristocrats would become too powerful for them. Ves- 
pasian, gifted as he was with practical business sense, took 
in hand the problem of dealing with the organization and 
management of these great estates. 

From inscriptions recently found in northern Africa, we 
know something of the administration of the imperial 
domain of that country. The land was leased in large 
tracts to men called conductors, who paid a certain portion 
of the produce to officers called procurators, who represented 
the emperor's interests. The conductors, or big lease- 
holders, sublet the estates to the colon I, who paid to them 
as rental a portion of the crops. The coloni were also bound 
to work for the conductors a certain number of days each 
year. 

Vespasian passed a law which definitely fixed the amount 
of rental which the coloni were to pay to the conductors, 
and the number of days of labor which they owed them. 
In the case of grains and fruits, the payment was usually 
one-third of the crop. The number of days of their labor 
for the conductors was fixed at six each year, two at the time 
of plowing, two at the sowing, and two at the harvesting. 
The procurators saw to it that these laws were inscribed on 
stone and set up in places where they could be read by the 
coloni, in order to protect them from unjust demands on the 
part of the conductors. They applied to the coloni working 
on the great private estates as well as to those on the im- 
perial domains. 

514. Titus and Domitian. — The two years of the rule 
of Titus were marked by two noteworthy events. The first 
was the eruption of Vesuvius, which, in 79 a. d., buried the 
two cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. The second was 



408 THE STORY OF ROME 

the completion of the Flavian Amphitheater, called the 
Colosseum, which was begun by Vespasian. The ruin- oi 
this gigantic building at Rome are still regarded as one of 
the greatest structures in the world. It was built for the 

exhibition of the gladiatorial games, or wild-beast hunts and 
tights, and could be flooded so that naval battles might be 
displayed. It is said that the building would seat SO, 000 
spectators. 

Domitian believed that an emperor's power should be 
absolute, and he therefore took little account of the Senate. 
Consequently he appears in the history oi Tacitus as a 
bloody tyrant, with no good qualities. His rule, however, 
was energetic and capable. In the year 9b a. d., a plot 
in the palace resulted in his death, and the Flavian line 
was at an end. 

References for Outside Reading 
Munro, Source Hook-, pp. 148-162; Botsford, S ' Rome, pp. 

241-281; Tacitus, Annals and Histories; Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve 
Casars; Abbott. Short History of Rome, pp. 87-203; Davis, Outline 

History of the Roman Empire, pp. 65-102; Jones, The Roman Empire, 
ch. 2-4; Bury, Student's Roman Empire, eh. 12-22: Seignobos, Ancient 
Civilization, pp. 289-295; Pelham, Outlines of Ro><:a>; History, pp. 
471-546; Taylor. Constitutional and Political History, eh. \9. Capes, 
. Empire; Seignobos, History of the Roman People, eh. 20. 
21; Tucker, Life in the Roman World, eh. 5, 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Delations Under Tiberius, — Capos. Early Empire, pp. 57-61; 

Davis, Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome, pp. 187-193. 

2. Was Tiberius \ Coon Emperor? — (Determine this by his words 

and his actions as emperor.) l>otst*ord. S Rome, pp. 242- 

253; Munro. Source Hook, pp. 148-152; Bury, Students Roman 
Empire, eh. 12. 13. 

3. Nero ano the Burning of Komi- Botsford. Stor% of Rome, pp. 

267-270; Tacitus, Annals, Rook 15, ch. 38-45. 

4. The Death ok Seneca. —Tacitus, Annals, Book !«*"•>. oh. 60-65. 

5. The Flavian Amphitheater. — Classical Dictionary nude- "Am- 

phitheatrum"; Bury, Student's Roman Empire, pp. 620-622; John- 
ston, Priwj ;' the Romans, pp. 255-259. 
6 Nero's Mother A.qrippina. -McClure's Magaxim tor April. L909. 
Artiolo entitled "Nero." 



OHAPTKP XXXVIII 



u 14 'MM 



CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 1\ THE FIRST 

CENTURY 

515. Our Sources of Information.— The numerous writers 
oi the first century after Christ, historians, philosophers, 

poets, and, best oi all, the writers of Satire, enable ns to 
form a fairly complete picture oi life in the Roman Empire. 
The details of this picture may be tilled in from the results oi 
the excavations made at Herenlanenm and Pompeii, which 
have given ns evidence oi the most interesting and most vain- 
able character. 

In the principate oi Titus, in August, 70 a. d., the vol- 
canic mountain Vesuvius, southeast oi Naples, suddenly 
broke out into a great 
eruption. The t wo 
cities lying at the foot 
of the mountain were 
e o v e r e d b y s m a 1 1 
pumice stones and 
volcanic ashes. Pom- 
peii to a depth of 
seventeen or eighteen 
feet. Hereulaneum 
much deeper. In the 
Middle A^es their ex- 
istence and location were forgotten. Since the beginning of 
the eighteenth century, excavations have been going on, and 
the visitor to Pompeii may now walk through the very 
streets and houses oi a Greco-Roman city of long ago. The 
larger part of Hereulaneum has not been excavated at all. 
Much therefore is still to be learned from its depths. 

516. The Streets of Pompeii. — Pompeii was a city of 
about 20.000 inhabitants. Its houses were one and two- 




\ lkw ok a CORNEB ok v\ Iruio W.u.i.k.p 
Town in \\ riQtnTT. 

From :i Relief. 



410 



THE STORY OF ROME 



story structures, built flush with the sidewalk. The streets, 
well paved with blocks of lava, were [narrow, varying from 
thirty-two feet in width in the better parts of town, to ten 
feet in the poorer parts. As the houses had no windows in 
-^ the lower story, 






• 






5 



the visitor must 
\ e felt that he 
was walking in a 
narrow passage 
flanked by blank 
£ a r d e n walls. 
Near the een- 
• terof the city the 
appearance of the 
streets was differ- 
v ent. Here t he 
b 1 a n k w alls 
ceased and the 
lower stories oi the houses were cut up into small shops, 
which opened upon the street. At night these were closed by 
heavy screens which were rolled down from above. Passing 
by when these were open, one might look into barber-shops 
and see the barber shaving his customers, or see the poorer 
people sitting at their meals in little cook-shops or chatting 
in the wine-shops. 

517. The Forum of Pompeii. — In the olden times, the 
forum of the Italian city had served as the market-place 
and the center for the people's meetings. As Italy de- 
veloped under Greek influence, it had come to be the center 
of the public life of the city. It was surrounded with tem- 
ples and other public buildings in the Greek style of archi- 
tecture. 

The forum of Pompeii was about 500 feet long by 150 
feet wide, well paved with stone, but with no entrance for 
carriages or wagons. At the north end of this rectangular 
space stood the temple oi Jupiter Optimus Maximus. its 
front of six great Corinthian columns overlooking the 
entire forum. This was the chief temple of the city's 



CHRISTIANITY AND nil: EMPIRE fcll 

worship. A colonnade, or row oi columns, ran along one 
side, along the end opposite the temple oi Jupiter, and part 
way up the other side. In from of the colonnade stood nu- 
merous statues of bronze or marble, including those oi the 
emperors Augustus. Caligula. Claudius, and Nero. Upon 
one side was a group oi seven equestrian statues. 

Other buildings arose back of the colonnade. The 
basilica was a roomy stone building, a covered market. 











Ruins Jumteb in mr Forum of P 

> his in the Background. 

where business men met to talk and make agreements, with 
a court where their differences were adjusted. In the 
northeast corner oi the fornm. facing directly upon the side 
of the temple of Jupiter, stood the markets for meats, fish, 
and delicacies already spiced and prepared. At the south 
end. facing the temple of Jupiter, were the buildings more 
strictly connected with the public affairs oi the city, the 
comiUum or voting hall, the offices of the duumvirs and sediles, 
and the hall for the meetings oi the city council. 

If one can imagine this fornm. and the people moving 
about in it. dressed in long white or colored togas, the statues 
and the rows of columned buildings, then one has a char- 
acteristic picture oi the central point in the life oi any 
Greco-Roman town. The general appearance was that of 
a Greek city, the architecture was entirely Greek, 

518. The Sources of Income of the Pompeians. — The chief 
industries oi Pompeii are clearly indicated by evidence 
in the shops and houses. As at the present day. the country- 



U2 rHE STOKY OF KOMI' 

side around Vesuvius was noted for its wine-grap - Ine 
number of the big wine-jars found at Pompeii proves that 
the manufacture of wine was an important source of the 
city's income. As the fishing was good in the waters of 

the bay of Naples, this must have been the employment 
of many of the poorer Pompeians. Fish sauces were man- 
ufactured in large quantities by one man. for the stamp 
of his factory has been found upon a number of clay jars. 
There were also factories which made mill-stones out of 
the lava to be obtained on Vesuvius, Many wealthy men 
from Rome had country homes around Pompeii, and the 
support of these brought money to the city. The Pompoian 
villa owned by Cicero has not yet been discovered in the 
excavations. 

519. Smaller Business Enterprises. -The work in the 
manufacturing industries was done by slaves. The tree 
laborers engaged in the various small trades necessary in 
a city of the siie of Pompeii. Those engaged in the same 
line of work were formed into guilds for the worship of the 
patron god or goddess of that trade. In Pompeii, as in 
Rome, the bakers' guild seems to have been Large and 
influential. 

The bakeries in Pompeii show us that the bakers had 
to grind the grain into meal and flour, as well as bake it 
into bread or cakes. Grinding mills of stone, and donkeys 
to turn them, were a part of every Large establishment. 
At the festival of Vesta, the goddess oi the bakers' guild, 
the donkeys were adorned with wreaths and cakes. 

The preparation and selling oi clothes was. oi course, 
an important business in any ancient city, just as it is now- 
adays. In Pompeii, the weavers who made the cloth out 
of the wool have not left any traces of their work. The 
fullers, however, who took the cloth from the loom and pre- 
pared it for sale by cleaning, bleaching, and pressing it. 
formed an important guild. They also did the work of 
dyeing, cleaning, and pressing clothes already in use. Many 
other industries of a similar nature helped to give work to 
the happy, care-free inhabitants oi beautiful Pompeii, 



CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 1 Mi 

520. Use of the Walls for Advertisements. Rome alone 
of all the cities in the Empire had anything i<> correspond 
to <>ur daily papers. IOach day the official ads of the Sen- 
ate were published at Rome, together with other news of 
interest to the public, upon a bulletin board. Copies of 

these bulletins were made out and sent out to other cities 

of [taly and even into the provinces. 

Since (here were no newspapers, the walls of I he houses 

were made to serve as bill-boards for advertising. The 
plaster walls in Pompeii were covered with inscriptions 
scratched or painted in bright red Letters from two to twelve 
inches high. 'They contain every sort of notice adver- 
tisements praising certain candidates for the local offices, 
sentimental verses written by lovers, and the letters of the 
alphabet, both in Greek and Latin, scratched by school 

children. 

In many of these notices, the guilds or unions recommend 

candidates for office. Some of the unions which occur 

mc those of the donkey-drivers; dealers in clothes, in 

drugs, :tnd in fruits; the porters; the dyers; bakers; inn- 
keepers; and barbers. A few of the quotations will serve 

to give Mil idea of the variety and interest, of these adver- 
tisements. 

I begyou to support A. Vettius Firmusas ©dile. lie deserves 
well of the state. Ball-players, support him. 

To let, for the space <>f five years, from the fifteenth day of 

next AugUSl to the fifteenth day of the sixth August thereafter, 
the Venus hath, lilted up for the best people, shops, rooms over 
the shops, and second story apartments, in the property owned 

by Julia Felix. 

The following notice was found upon the whitewashed 
wall of a grave monument on a street leading out of the 
city: 

Let the person whose mate ran away on the 25th of November, 

a mare with a little pack-saddle, look up Q. DeciuS Hilarus, 
freedman of Lucius, this side of the Sarno bridge on the Mammn 
estate. 



414 



THE STORY OF ROME 



521. The Houses of the Wealthy. — The houses of the 

wealthy citizens of Pompeii give us a high opinion of the 
good taste and love of beauty which marked the culture 
of the Empire. Passing into a Pompeian house from the 
street, the visitor came into a large court called the atrium, 
with a hole in the roof to admit light. The floor of this court 
was decorated witli mosaics, the walls covered with paintings, 
the ceilings glittered with gold and ivory. Statues in marble 

or bronze were placed here and 
there along the walls. Back 
of this was a still larger court 
with a garden in the center 
containing splashing fountains, 
flowers, marble basins and a 
few statues. This garden was 
surrounded by marble pillars. 
The covered passage on either 
side of the garden opened upon 
the living rooms of the house. 
Sometimes the sleeping rooms 
were here, sometimes in the 
second story. 

These houses of the wealthy 
were comfortable, airy, and 
very elegant. They had no 
windows through which the 
owners could look into the 
grass plot or garden outside, 
a free outlook, pictures were 




Wall-painting from a Room in an 
Ancient Villa. 

The Impression given by the Painting 
is that one is Looking Through a Window 

upon the Town Outside. 



street, and there was no 

To supply this want of 

painted upon the walls which showed fields and flowers, 

producing the impression that those in the house were 

looking through windows opening out upon some country 

scene. 

522. Moral Life of the Empire.— The Romans and Italians 
of the early Republic were a stern, simple, and upright people. 
We have seen how the moral ideas of the Greeks of the 
Hellenistic Age were brought to Rome in the third and second 
centuries before Christ. These changed the Roman stand- 



CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 415 

ard of morals, and, eventually, the Roman character. 
The Romans lost their belief in their old religion and 
turned to the Greek, and later to the wild excesses of 
strange Oriental worships. Those who still believed in 
the old Roman and Greek gods found in them no guide to 
admonish them to live clean lives and tell them how to 
do so. 

The literature of the last century of the Republic and the 
first century of the Empire, and the evidence which con 
from Pompeii lead to the conviction that the sound and 
healthy moral tone of the old Republic had changed and that 
viciousness was widespread in Rome and the cities of Italy. 
Xo doubt the great majority of men were still good; but 
public opinion did not condemn many acts which our own 
day w T ould never tolerate. Of many reasons which must 
have helped to brutalize Roman life, two stand forth promi- 
nently, the gladiatorial shows, and the widespread system 
of slavery. 

523. The Birth of Christ and His Historical Importance. — 
Never before had the world attained so high a point of 
civilization as in the Roman Empire in the first century 
of our era. Never before had the prosperity of mankind 
been so great, over so large an area of the world. From the 
Euphrates to Gibraltar there stretched one vast empire. 
In the years of peace introduced by the rule of Augustus 
Caesar, travel became quite safe and tradf j was active. In a 
small and insignificant corner of this peaceful and busy 
empire, Jesus of Xazareth was born, whose religious and 
moral teachings are so powerful an influence in the world of 
to-day. 

Simple and gentle, unknown to the Emperor Tiberius 
and the other great men of Rome, Christ spent his few 
years of active teaching in Palestine. In the great Roman 
world of that day' his crucifixion passed unnoticed except- 
ing among his own people, the Jews. Yet of all the great 
things which the Roman Empire gave to the world, this i- the 
greatest, the most vital, and historically the most impor- 
tant — the Christian religion founded by Jesus. 



41(5 THE STORY OF ROME 

524. The Life of Christ. — Jesus was born in Nazareth, 
a town in Galilee, probably in the year 4 b. c. 1 Some time 
before 30 a. d., while Tiberius was Emperor, Jesus began 
his career as a public teacher, preaching the knowledge of 
God to all who would hear. 

As the fame of Jesus grew, his popularity and teachings 
aroused the enmity of the Jewish leaders. He was at last 
arrested near Jerusalem, and brought before the Sanhedrin, 
the highest Jewish tribunal. Its members wished to put 
Jesus to death but had to have the consent of the Roman 
procurator of Galilee, Pontius Pilatus. The charges made 
against Jesus were that he stirred up the people, refused 
to pay tribute to the Roman emperor, and called himself 
King of the Jews. Although the procurator Pilatus found 
no truth in the charges, which implied rebellion against 
Roman rule, he yielded to the clamor of the populace, and 
condemned Jesus to be crucified. 

525. Importance of the Apostle Paul. — En the history 
of the first four centuries after Christ's birth, two movements 
stand out as most important in their results : (1) The progress 
and later decline of the Roman Empire; (2) the rapid spread 
of Christianity within the Empire. In the second of these 
movements one man becomes an important historical figure, 
who is not mentioned by the Roman historians of the time ami 
was probably unknown to them. This was the Apostle Paul. 

The converts to Christianity in the time of Christ's min- 
istry were not many and these were all in Galilee and Judaea, 
a very small section of the Empire. The greatness of Paul 
lies in the fact that he insisted that Christianity was not 
meant to be a religion of one people, but of all peoples, and 
that he was tireless in his efforts to spread the doctrines of 
Christ in the pagan world. 

x The year usually given as the year of the birth of Christ, from 
which the Christian era begins, was worked out by a monk named 
Dionysius in the sixth century a. d. The dates in Christ's life are 
very hard to fix, and it is evident that Dionysius was wrong. Some 
authorities think that Jesus was born in 7 b. c., but it is impossible 
to be positive. 






CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 



417 



526. The Life of Paul. — Paul had been educated as a 
strict follower of the Jewish faith. After the crucifixion of 
Christ, he assisted in the persecutions of the small congrega- 
tion of believers in Jesus. After his own conversion, he felt 
that it was his mission to convert the Gentiles. He preached 




Journeys of the Apostle Paul 

First Voyage 

Second Voyage ■ 

SCALE CF MILES 
-JO 4U CO SO 100 120 
24 J 26 



Map of the Journeys of Paul in the Eastern* Mediterranean Lands. 

and established "churches in Antioch, and in the smaller 
cities of Syria and Cilicia. Another journey took him across 
into Europe, where he worked with patience and tireless 
energy in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth. 

When he returned to Jerusalem, Paul was persecuted by 
the Jews and arrested. The fact that he was a Roman 
citizen saved him from death. After two years' imprison- 
ment he appealed his case to the Emperor Nero, as every 
Roman citizen had the right to do. It seems that he lived 
several years at Rome under arrest, but free to move about 



U8 THE STORY OF ROME 

the city. He spent his time in aiding and strengthening the 
Roman community of Christians. 

It is impossible to ti\ definitely the time when he was 
taken to Rome, or the year and manner of his death. The 
ancient writers agree, however, that he spent two years 
under guard at Rome, and was executed in the time of Nero 
about the year 65 \. D, 

527. The Early Christian Congregation. — By the time 
oi Nero's death, owing principally to Paul's labors, congre- 
gations of believers in the new faith were to be found in all 
the larger cities o( the Empire. They did not. however, 
take an important place in the life oi the cities, because the 
members were of the lower classes, free laborers, freedmen, 
anil slaves. In 64 a. d., when the great fire occurred in 
Rome, Nero was able to put the blame upon the Christians, 
for the populace of the city knew little about them, and they 
had no converts among men of high rank, and no influence 
to protect them. Even as late as 115 a. d. when the his- 
torian Tacitus wrote his Annals, an official like Tacitus, 
who had lived all his life at Rome, had do real knowledge 
or understanding of Christian life and teachings. This is 
proved by his description of the persecution under Nero. 

528. External Factors Which Helped the Spread of Chris- 
tianity. — Among the lower mass of the population o( the 
Empire, the growth of Christianity was marvelously rapid. 
In addition to the high truth of Christ's teachings and the 
work of Paul, this rapid spread is due to many external 
factors which favored the growth of Christianity. 

1. The scattering of the Jews, ami their conception of one 
God, maker of heaven and earth, over the Roman world. In 
a measure, the ground had already been prepared in the 
pagan world for the acceptance o( the Christian belief in one 
God through the work of the Jewish congregations. 

2. The unity of the world in the speech ami ideas of the 
Hellenistic Greek world. 

3. The political unity of the civilized world under the 
Roman Empire. The all-embracing Empire prepared the 
Roman world for a single ami all-embracing religion. 



CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 419 

4. The world-trade, with its great and safe highways, which 
brought about a continual mingling of the different nations 
and their ideas. 

5. The tolerance of the Roman state toward foreign 
religions. This allowed Christianity to start unmolested. 

6. The decay of the old Greek and Italian religions, and 
the great need of a new religion which would supply the 
moral instruction which, before the coming of Christianity, 
had been supplied chiefly by the Greek philosophies. 

In a word, the unity of all the Empire in speech, culture, 
and political organization was a necessary condition for the 
spread of Christianity in the early days. With a knowledge 
of the Greek language, Paul could address his audiences in 
all parts of the civilized world and be understood. The 
fundamental idea of one God was not entirely new and 
strange to the people to whom he preached. 

529. The Growing Humanity of Paganism. — There are 
many evidences in the first century a. d. that the pagan 
world was growing kindlier and better, even without the 
influence of Christianity. The new spirit showed itself in 
humane laws for the protection of slaves, in the simple lives of 
the Flavian emperors, and in the words of the emperor Titus, 
who counted each day lost in which he had not done some 
good thing. Many grave-inscriptions from the provinces 
teach us that the family life of the people was sound and 
happy. One husband says of his wife, " She was dearer 
to me than my own life." Another inscribed on his first 
wife's tomb: " Only once did she cause me sorrow, and that 
was by her death." 

530. Roman Stoicism: Seneca. — This spirit, which is 
so different from the general brutality of the last century 
of the Republic, is found especially in the writings of the 
Roman followers of the Stoic philosophy. The greatest 
of these, and one of the greatest pagan characters of the 
first century of the Empire, is Seneca, the adviser of Nero. 
Born of a wealthy Spanish family, Seneca became Nero's 
tutor, and later ran the Empire as his chief adviser. Though 
an important figure in the politics of his day, Seneca is more 




420 THE STORY OF ROME 

important in Roman history as a writer of tragedies and 
philosophic essays. In essays upon providence, anger, 
on leisure, on peace of mind, and like topics, he set forth 
his Stoic ideas. 

Although Seneca probably knew little, if anything, about 
Christianity, he expresses many doctrines which are de- 
cidedly Christian, such as this: " I 
will govern my life and my thoughts 
as if the whole world were to see 
the one and read the other, for what 
does it signify to make anything a 
secret to my neighbor, when to God 
(who searches our hearts) all our 
private thoughts are open." In 
answer to the question why we often 
see good men in affliction and wicked 
men living in ease and plenty, Seneca 

The Philosophek an>. States- u M angwcr fe tnat Qod deals 

MAX, DENECA. J *> 

by us as a good Father does by his 
children. He tries us, he hardens us, and fits us for him- 
self." 

It is true that Seneca closed his eyes to many evil deeds 
in the wicked life of Nero's court. Though he did not live 
up to his high ideas of morality, his belief in these ideas and 
his many talents commend him to our admiration. When 
he received an order from Nero to commit suicide, he did 
it bravely, in a manner worthy of his Stoic training. 

531. Morality of the Early Christians. — Right living, 
among those pagans who followed the Greek philosophies, 
was often a matter of theory rather than a thing which they 
acted upon. Among the early Christians, clean living was 
strictly enforced, and every sin was punished before the 
whole congregation. Because they regarded the gladia- 
torial games as wicked, they would not go to see them. 
Because Christ had preached a doctrine of peace, they 
would not enlist as soldiers. Because Christ had preached 
purity of heart, they kept their lives unspotted. Who- 
ever committed any of the " deadly sins," including the 



CHRISTIANITY AND THE EMPIRE 421 

worship of pagan gods, blasphemy, murder, deception, or 
false witness, was dismissed from the congregation. The 
poorer members of the congregation were supported by the 
charity of the wealthier, and alms were given freely. Thus 
a growing body of people was to be found in the Empire, 
in whose lives the teachings of Christ were exemplified, who 
feared sin more than death, and regarded poverty and hunger 
as less to be dreaded than a lie. 

References for Outside Reading 

Seignobos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 304-321, 329-334; Bury, Student's 
Roman Empire, ch. 31-32; Capes, Early Empire, ch. 18-19; Mau- 
Kelsey, Pompeii, its Life and Art, especially ch. 7, 8, 12-22, 46-48, 
56-58 (excellent illustrations) ; Barker, Buried Herculaneum, ch. 4, 8, 
9, 14, 15 (to be used for illustrations); Friedlander, Town Life in 
Ancient Italy; Inge, Society in Rome under the Casars; Friedlander, 
Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire, pp. 1-50; Thomas, 
Roman Life under the Caisars, ch. 1 ; Bulwer-Lytton, Last Days of Pom- 
peii. 

On Early Christianity: The New Testament, especially Acts; 
Lives of Jesus and Paul in the Encyclopedias; Hardy, Studies in Roman 
History (first series), ch. 1-5; Hardy, Christianity and the Roman Gov- 
ernment, ch. 1-5 (same as preceding reference) ; Fisher, The Beginnings 
of Christianity, ch. 13-17; Uhlhorn, Conflict of Christianity with Heath- 
enism, pp. 13-91. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Inns and Wine-shops in an Ancient Town. — Mau-Kelsey, Pom- 

peii, ch. 47; Johnston, Private Life of the Romans, pp. 285-6. 

2. The Eruptions of Vesuvius as Described by an Eye-Witness. — 

Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 275-278; Letters of Pliny the Younger, 
VI, 20. 

3. The Journey of Paul to Rome. — Acts, ch. 27-28. 

4. The Dangers of Living in Rome. — Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 

281-284. 

5. The Death of Seneca. — Tacitus, Annals, book 15, ch. 60-64. 



CHAPTER XXXIX 
THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 

532. The Antonine C»sars. The assassination of Donii- 
tian in 96 a. d. left do heir of the Flavian house to claim the 
emperor's seat. The Senate quickly decided upon Nerva, 
an aged and respected member of its body, as emperor. The 
new emperor adopted as his son and joint ruler a Spaniard 
named Trajan. The choice of tins excellent executive and 
able genera] brings two new ideas into the administration of 
the ccMitral government of the Empire: (t) the princi- 
ple of adoption by the existing emperor of some worthy 
successor; (2) the idea, that a provincial like Trajan could be 
made emperor. 

The system of adopting a successor was kept up for almost 
a century, due to the fact th.it the next three emperors had 
no sons. It brought to the heavy burden of the imperial 

office a series of tour hard-WOrking, honest and conscientious 
rulers, called the Antonines. These are Trajan, 98-117 a. d., 
Hadrian, 117 L38 a. d., Antoninus Pius, L38 L61 \. D., and 
Marcus Aurelius, 101 ISO a. i>. Those, with Nerva, are the 
so-called " five good emperors." 

533. General View of the Second Century. — The period 
{)[' the Antonines has rightly been considered one of the 
most peaceful and most prosperous in the history of the 
Mediterranean countries. The wars which were waged 
were all upon the frontiers, and did not affect commerce 
and welfare within the Empire. The history of the time, 
which lacks the dramatic incidents of the first century a. D., 

may he summed up as follows: 

1. It was a period of little progress in the development o\' the 
imperial system toward monarchy. There were hut slight 
changes in t lie boundaries of tin 1 Empire. Politically and terri- 
torially, therefore, t ho Empire was at a standstill. 

422 



Til 10 EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 



123 



rom 



2. The system of government, as established by Augustus 
and developed in the first century, worked smoothly and effi- 
cienl ly. 

3. The emperors chosen by adoption were all excellent men. 
I. The power of the Senate, effectually broken in the first 

century, gradually decreased. Yet the Antonines managed to 
work in harmony wit h t In 1 Senate. 

5. Greal interest was shown by the Antonines, of whom two 
were provincials, in the welfare and the happiness of the prov- 
inces. 

6. Roman citizenship was granted to many cities in the prov- 
inces, thus levelling the distinction Let ween Italy and the 
provinces. 

7. The number of the Christians increased, and the state 

attempted to suppress the new religion. 

534. Trajan the Conqueror, 98-117 A. D. Trajan was a 
soldier and conqueror by temperament. He introduced a 
policy of expanding the Empire which distinguishes him 
the other emperors of the first, 
t wo centuries a. n. .lust, north 
of i he Danube River, a s1 rong 

nation called the Dacians had 

gradually grown up. By their 
sallies into the province of 

Thrace, this people had made it- 
evident that the Roman border 

could not be protected unless 
Dacia quickly became Roman- 
ized by the settlers who poured A Romam Soldieh ind a Dacian, 

•itt i • • With a Dacian Hut in thh 

in. We have two surviving Background. 

memorials of Trajan's exploits in Froma Roman Relief in the Louvre. 
Dacia, the column which he set up in Rome in honor of Ins 
victory, and the language spoken in modern Roumania, which 
is directly descended from the ancient Latin. 

In the last years of his life (111 117 a. d.), Trajan led 
his devoted troops against the Parthians in western Asia. 
By adding the provinces of Armenia, Assyria, Mesopo- 
tamia, and Arabia, he brought the Roman Empire to the 




THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 425 

greatest extent it ever attained. But Trajan was greater 
as a conqueror than as a statesman, and his successor, 
Hadrian, deemed it wise to give up all these new provinces, 
excepting Arabia and Dacia. 

535. Hadrian the Traveler, 117-138 A. D. — In the 
Spaniard Hadrian there came to power a man who typifies 
in his temperament and abilities that mixture of Greek and 
Roman qualities which makes the civilization of the Roman 
Empire. The great love of everything beautiful, poetry, 
art, rhetoric, the drama, which he possessed in full measure, 
is Greek. His earnestness as a ruler, his devotion to duty, 
his respect for law, and his soldierly qualities — these are 
Roman. 

There is no glamour of war about his rule. He gave 
himself up to the less showy task of studying the finances 
of his wide empire. There is something which reminds 
us of a modern ruler's task in the statement of an ancient 
historian: " Hadrian was better acquainted with the expen- 
ditures and revenues of the state than most men with those 
of their own household." 

In order to acquaint himself with the needs of the Empire, 
Hadrian traveled constantly, visiting every province from 
Britain to Asia. Everywhere his visits were remembered 
because of some new temple erected, an aqueduct built, or 
some other public improvement. He gave his attention 
to the protection of the coloni who worked upon the large 
estates of the great private owners and on the imperial do- 
mains which were held in lease by the conductors. He 
followed, in this, the sensible policy of Vespasian. Some 
grateful subjects in northern Africa praised him well when 
they thanked him, in an inscription which we still have, for 
the " sleepless vigilance with which he watched over the 
affairs of mankind." 

536. Beginning of the Code of Roman Laws. — It was 
natural that Hadrian, born and raised in the provinces, 
should be lavish in granting Roman citizenship. He felt 
himself to be the Caesar of the Empire, not of the Romans 
alone; and when he put Italy under the jurisdiction of 



426 



THE STORY OF ROME 



four judges, Italy itself was ruled almost like a province. 
In the Roman Republic the praetors had sat as judges in 
the law-courts, deciding cases according to the laws of the 
Twelve Tables, or, when new questions came up, as their 
sense of justice dictated. The praetors who were sent out 
as provincial governors used to publish, at the beginning 
of the year, the praetors' edicts, containing the laws by which 
they intended to govern and decide cases. The following 
praetors would usually republish the old edicts, adding 
perhaps a few new rules. Thus a great and confused 




The Mausoleum of Hadrian, Now Called Castle St. Angelo. 
In the Background the Dojne of St. Peter's Appears. 

body of decisions and laws had arisen in all parts of the 
Empire. 

Hadrian, in the midst of his work of reorganizing the army 
and the central government, turned his attention to the 
question of bringing order out of this chaos of laws. An 
eminent jurist named Salvius Julianus was put at the task 
of sifting all these edicts of the praetors, determining the cor- 
rect decision in a given kind of case, and systematizing the 
whole. When the work of Julianus was published, the 
Roman state had its first complete code, the growth of 
centuries out of the rough beginning of the Twelve Tables. 

537. The Stoic Emperor Marcus Aurelius, 161-180 A. D. 
— The long rule of Antoninus Pius was peaceful. The gov- 
ernment was conducted along the same lines as under 
Hadrian, although with much less energy and ability. 



THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 



427 



Marcus Aurelius, the adopted son of Antoninus, is a 
singular character in history. There are few men whose 
inmost thoughts we know so well as those of this gentle, 
kindly man, whose life, noble as it was, seems such a tragic 
failure. The diary, written in Greek, is still extant, in which 
Aurelius wrote down precepts and thoughts to help him and 
guide him in the work of the day. These thoughts, in the 
little book which is 
called Meditations of 
Marcus Aurelius, are 
the expression of a 
noble soul, trained as 
a follower of the 
Stoic philosophy. 

The rule of this 
man, who loved his 
people and did his 
duty as his Stoic be- 
lief bade him, was 
marked by outbreaks 
and disasters 
throughout the Em- 
pire. Marcus Aurel- 
ius was a man who 
hated war; yet in 
most of his years as 
emperor the " Ro- 




man peace 



Marcus Aurelius Receiving the Submission of 
Barbarians. 
Was Panel from a Monument of Marcus Aurelius. 

broken by dangerous outbreaks. In the East the Parthians 
invaded Syria, and the borders were only defended with great 
difficulty. The armies contracted the plague there and 
brought it home with them, and thousands fell as victims to 
its horrors. 

In Pannonia and Rhaetia, the barbarian tribes, called 
the Quadi and Marcomanni, were being pushed into the 
Empire by movements among the German tribes lying 
north of them. Here, along the Danube frontier, the peace- 
loving prince was forced to fight year after year to preserve 



428 THE STORY OF ROME 

the border line intact. This frontier war in the north is 
the beginning of a great movement of the next three cen- 
turies in which the northern barbarians forced their way 
into the Empire, lowering the standards of the Greco- 
Roman civilization, and introducing the German elements 
which ushered in the Middle Ages. 

The Emperor himself took the first step which shows the 
inner weakness of the Empire. He found it necessary 
to admit many of the barbarians into the devastated lands 
along the border. They were settled as coloni, each re- 
ceiving a piece of land from the government, upon which he 
was bound to stay. They were obliged to serve in the Roman 
armies, and, like the coloni of northern Africa, paid a part 
of the produce of their land to the state or to some noble 
land-owner. 

538. The Great Highways Bind the Empire Together. — 
The height of civilization in the Roman Empire in its first 
two centuries is nowhere better shown than in the complex 
system of excellent roads which radiated from Rome, binding 
the capital to every part of its wide domain. Opportunity 
for travel and the transportation of goods was probably 
never so good as in that period, until the railroad and steam- 
ship came into use in the nineteenth century. 

The center of the system of highways was in the forum 
of Rome, marked by a golden mile-stone. At this spot 
began four great trunk-lines, which held the same place 
in the life of the Empire as do our transcontinental railroads 
in North America. These were: 

1. The African Highivay. The southern highway called in 
Italy the Appian Way. It ran to Capua, Rhegium, across by 
boat to Messana in Sicily, thence to Lilybseum. A sea-trip of 
twenty-four hours landed the traveler at Carthage. From this 
place it was the African highway, extending southward to the 
desert, westward along the coast until it connected at Tangiers 
with the Spanish road, and eastward to Alexandria. Here it 
connected via Coptus with the sea-route to India and China, 
via Antioch with the land-route to the far East. 

2. The Eastern Highway. The branch of the Appian Way 



THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 429 

which ran via Capua to Brundisium. Crossing the Adriatic to 
Dyrrachium, it struck the Egnatian road which cut upward 
through the Balkan peninsula to Byzantium. Across the Bos- 
porus it branched out into a net-work of roads covering Asia 
Minor and touching all the many industrial centers from the 
Black Sea to Antioch and the Euphrates River. 

3. The Western Highway. The Via Aurelia along the western 
coast of Italy to Genoa, Nemausus and Narbo Martius in Gaul, 
across the Pyrenees to Taracco in Spain, whence it ran along 
the eastern and southern coast of Spain to Gades, sending out 
branches which opened up all inner Spain to the world-commerce. 

4. The Northern Highway. The Flaminian-iEmilian road 
northward across Italy to Ariminum. From there it branched 
in two directions: 

a. To the northeast, via Aquileia and Emona, by one route to 
Carnuntum and Vindobona (Vienna) on the Danube, by another 
over Sirmium and Hadrianople to Byzantium. This branch 
traversed the Danube provinces. 

b. To the north and northwest, via Mediolanum (Milan) 
over the Alps to Lugdunum (Lyons), where it branched in many 
directions, connecting finally with the roads to Britain and Ger- 
many. The engineering and road-building on some of the 
Alpine roads was so good that they are still in use. From 
Mediolanum another branch ran over the Alps to Aventicum 
and Vindonissa. Here it struck the great Rhine highway which 
passed over Mogontiacum (Mayence), and Colonia Agrippina 
(Cologne), to the Netherlands and the North Sea. 

From these four great highways, thousands of less im- 
portant roads cut off in every direction, carrying wares into 
every town, as the branch lines from our railroad trunk- 
lines carry the goods of our modern world. 

539. The World-Commerce. — The articles of trade ex- 
changed by land and sea routes included everything which 
the cities in the east or west manufactured. Syrian, Greek, 
Jewish, and Italian merchants journeyed everywhere, 
passing far beyond the bounds of the Empire, so that the 
interchange of wares included the three continents of 
Europe, Africa, and Asia. Ships laden with the manufac- 



430 



THE STORY OF ROME 



tured articles of the Empire made the trip around Spain 
to Britain, Scotland, and Ireland, bringing back tin and skins 
of wild animals. They sailed also to the shores of the North 
Sea, trading for amber. 

The trade with India and China is proved by old Roman 
coins found in those countries. A Chinese report states 
that, in the year 166 a. d., an embassy came to China with 
gifts from " An-Thun, king of great Thsin." This was 
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. After months of absence, 
the ships returned to the Red Sea with loads of incense, pep- 




A Street Scene in Rome. 
The Approach to the Palatine Hill Along the Sacred Way. A Restoration by Gatteschi. 

per and other spices, ivory, skins, and other oriental products. 
540. A Contemporary Picture of the Empire's Prosperity. 
— Tertullian, a Christian writer born about 160 a. d., has 
left us a vivid picture of the trade and high development 
of the Roman world in his day: 

Certainly the world becomes each day more beautiful and 
more magnificent. No corner has remained inaccessible; every 
spot is known and frequented, and is the scene or object of busi- 
ness transactions. Explore the deserts lately famous — verdure 



THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 



431 



covers them. The tilled field has conquered the forest, wild 
beasts retreat before the flocks of domestic animals. The sands 
are cultivated, rock is broken up, swamps are transformed into 
dry land. You are sure to find everywhere a dwelling, every- 
where a nation, a state, eve^where life. 

541. The Imperial City, Rome. — It was during the rule 
of the Julians, Flavians, and Antonines that Rome became 
the " immortal city " whose ruins astonish the traveler 




Column of Trajan and Ruins of the Forum of Trajan. 
The Column is Now Surmounted by a Statue of St. Peter. 



at the present day. The emperors, one after the other, 
increased the size and beauty of the forum, until it con- 
sisted of five different plazas, surrounded by temples and 
public buildings of costly marble. The most splendid of 
these was the forum of Trajan. At one end stood the 
column of Trajan, on which his wars with the Dacians 
were carved in a spiral band running to the top of the 
column. A large basilica and library, and the open space 
28 



432 THE STORY OF ROME 

of the forum surrounded with columns, completed the fine 
appearance of the place. 

Triumphal arches of stone, statues of every kind, great 
public baths, theaters, and the palaces of the wealthy, and 
above all the vast Colosseum, made the Rome of the Empire 
a city second to none in the world. 

542. Religious Development Under the Antonines. — The 
period of the Antonines was one in which the end of the old 
Roman religion could easily be foreseen. The state worship 
of many gods was purely a matter of form. Few believed 
seriously in it. and many clever writers ridiculed it. Many 
kinds of religious and philosophic beliefs were taking its 
place. The educated classes turned to Stoicism and Epi- 
cureanism, the lower classes to the mysteries of Mithras 
worship and to Christianity. Mithras was a Persian sun- 
god to whom his devotees sacrificed bulls, letting the blood 
drip upon them and praying for purity of heart. This 
Persian religion was brought back from the East by the 
soldiers of the army. Like Christianity, it demanded of its 
followers that they should lead good lives. It counted 
thousands of followers in the Roman army, and for two 
centuries offered there a strong competition to the advance 
of Christianity. 

543. The Roman State Condemns Christianity. — It is a 
strange fact that the Antonines, the " good emperors," 
were the ones who began to persecute the Christians and 
tried to check the spread of their belief. Letters which 
passed, about 112 a. d., between Pliny, governor of Bithynia, 
and the emperor Trajan, help us to realize why this should 
be. Some men and women were brought before Pliny 
and accused of being Christians. He did not know what 
to do with them and asked the Emperor whether he should 
punish them merely because they were Christians, or 
whether he should do so when they had been convicted of 
some crime. Pliny could not find that they did anything 
wrong. He wrote to Trajan that he dismissed those who 
"worshipped your image and the statues of the gods and 
cursed Christ. They continued to maintain that this was 



THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 433 

the amount of their fault or error, that on a fixed day [the 
Sabbath] they were accustomed to come together before 
daylight, and to sing by turns a hymn to Christ as a god; 
and that they bound themselves by oath, not for some crime, 
but that they would not betray a trust, or deny a deposit, 
when called upon to give it over. After this it was their 
custom to disperse and to come together again to partake of 
food, of an ordinary and harmless kind, however" 1 

Trajan wished to be just. His decision, however, was 
adverse to the Christians, and made the worship of Christ 
a crime against the state. He wrote to Pliny as follows: 
"They ought not to be sought out; if they are brought 
before you, and the charge is proved, they must be pun- 
ished — with this restriction, that in case a person denies that 
he is a Christian, and shall, by invoking our gods, make it 
evident that he is not, he shall be pardoned." 

544. Why Christianity Was Regarded as Dangerous. — 
The Roman state had always been very liberal in its atti- 
tude towards foreign redigions. The worship of Oriental 
gods, such as Mithras and the Egyptian Isis, had been 
accepted by the state. Why, then, did the emperors at- 
tempt to check Christianity? 

The reason lies in the fact that Christianity, growing 
out of the Hebrew religion, is a worship of one God. Chris- 
tians cannot believe that any other gods exist beside Him. 
The Roman state could have accepted the Christian God 
easily and added Him to its many other gods; but the 
Christians could not join hands with the Empire and worship 
its gods, and especially the Emperor, as the Roman state 1 
demanded. The Christians, therefore, seemed to be oppos- 
ing the national worship, and to be members of a secret 
society which was plotting against the public welfare. 

545. Mild Persecutions in the First Two Centuries. — The 
mass of the common people, who did not know of Christ's 
words, believed evil of the Christians. This was because 

1 The italicized words refer to the common belief of the pagans of 
Pliny's time that the Christians sacrificed children to God and then 
ate of their flesh. This awful slander was apparently widely believed. 



434 THE STORY OF ROME 

the Christians wore so strict that they would not fight in 
the armies, because Christ was a messenger of mercy and 
peace. They would not work in the temples of the other 
gods. They would not attend the circus, nor the gladia- 
torial games. They would not engage in any business 
which seemed to them low. or contrary to Christ's teaching. 

The common people, therefore, began to hate and fear 
them. When Nero, in 64 a. d., accused the Christians of 
burning the city, he took advantage of this feeling to turn 
the popular hatred from himself. Under Domitian. there 
were some trials of Christians, but no regular persecution. 
Under Trajan. "Christianity'" became an offense against 
the state. 

In the time of Marcus Aurelius. the Christians were perse- 
cuted in Lugdunum (Lyons) in Caul. The time had not 
yet come, however, when there was any large and organized 
attempt to stamp out the worship. The persecutions took 
place in different localities, where the suspicion and hatred 
of the pagan population forced the provincial governors to 
take some action. 

546. Latin Literature of the Second Century. — In the 
time of Trajan's rule, the city of Rome produced two great 
writers. Tacitus, the historian, and Juvenal, the satirist. 
The latter saw the wickedness and vulgarity of life in the big 
city, and pictured in bitter verses its rich upstarts, its 
dirty streets, and its seething life. He showed none of the 
genial humor which makes the charm of the satire of Horace. 

Pliny the Younger, the official whose correspondence 
with the emperor Trajan regarding the Christians has just 
been quoted, wrote ten books of letters which may still be 
read. Although these are a valuable source of knowledge 
oi the life of the Empire under Trajan. Pliny cannot be 
called a great author. 

547. Greek Literature of the Second Century.— Under 
the Antonines there was a great revival in Creek literature. 
Plutarch, of Cluvronea in Boeotia, wrote his Parallel Lives 
of famous Creek and Roman statesmen and warriors, which 
have been so often quoted in this book. Historically. 



THE EMPIRE AT A STANDSTILL 435 

Plutarch is inaccurate and credulous, and apt to worship 

the men of by-gone days as heroes. Yet the (.'harm o( his 
style, and his fine sense of the dramatic in life, make his 
biographies very entertaining. As an historical source 
he is invaluable, for he has saved us much information which 
would otherwise be entirely lost. His moral essays, of 
which over eighty still exist, are rated higher than his 
biographies. 

ruder Hadrian, a Bithynian named Arrian wrote his 
Anabasis of Alexander the (treat, from which much e>( our 
knowledge of Alexander's conquests is obtained. Ho also 
edited the sermons of Epictotus, his master in the Stoic 
philosophy, which he evidently took down in shorthand 
as they were preached. 

The emperor Hadrian was a man o( tine literary taste, and 
interested in poetry as well as philosophy. A short time 
before his death he composed a little Latin poem addressed 
to his soul: 

Soul of mine, pretty one, flitting one, 
Guesl and partner of my clay. 
Whither wilt thou hie away — 
Pallid one. rigid one, naked one — 
Never to play again, never to play. 

The Stoic creed was represented in the second century 
by the emperor Marcus Aurelius, whose Meditations have 
already been mentioned. Marcus Aurelius, the Emperor, 
read and was influenced by the Discourses of Epictetus, who 
was a crippled Phrygian slave, brought to Rome by a favor- 
ite of Nero. Later he was freed, and spent the rest of his 
life as a Stoic preacher. The Stoicism of Epictetus is similar 
to that of Marcus Aurelius, and no less noble. 

References for Outside Reading 

Munro. Source Book, pp. 162-171; Botsford, Story of Rome, eh. 11; 
Davis. Outline History of Roman Empire, pp. 102-120, 163-171; Seigno- 

bos, History of the Roman People, eh. 22-21; Abbott. Short His- 
tory of Rome, pp. 204-222: Capes, Age of the Antonines; Bury, Student's 
Roman Empire, eh. 23-31; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, Book 



436 THE STORY OF ROME 

6, ch. 1: Tucker. Life in the Roman World of A md St. Paul, eh. 
1. 2, 3, 19, 21; Davis, T h in Imperial Rome. pp. 

95-122; Uhlhorn, Conflict of Christianity with H sm, pp. 217- 

264, 270-297; Jones, The Roman Empire, eh. 5, 6. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Stoic Doctrines. -Munro, Soura Book, 176-179; Botsford, S 

t. 311-315. 

2. The Postal Service of the Empire. — Classical Dictionaries under 

•' Postal Service" or "Cursus Publicus." 

3. Traveling During phe Empire. — Pellison, Rome n Pliny's 

Time. ch. 9; Johnston. Private . < Romans, pp. 278-287, 

4. Gifts to the Public bi nu: Wealthy Min of rut: Empire. — 

Article by Ferrero in Atlantic Monthly for August. 1910; Davis, 
FA< /• FPeo&A in Imperial Rome. eh. 6. 

5. Crimes of Which the Pagans Accused the Christians. — Munro, 

Source Book, pp. 168-171. 

6. Rome, the Imperial City.— Tucker, / .:'/: in : ; .y Roman World 

of Nero and St. Paul. eh. 7. 8 : Thomas. Roman A.7V Under the 
Cojsars, eh. 2. 



CHAPTER XT, 

THE DECLINE OF ORECO ROMAN CIVILIZATION IN THE 

THIRD CENTURY 

548. General Survey of the Third Century. — The Roman 
Empire in the first century after Christ advanced in material 
prosperity as well as in culture. The century of theAntonines 

was its stationary period, with few signs o( progress except- 
ing in the new and virile life of Christianity. The third cen- 
tury ushered in the period oi the decline, but is marked, also, 
by a great activity in the development of Roman law and 
in the spread oi Christianity. 

No people can produce or maintain a high standard of 
civilization unless the political organization to which they 
belong, that is. the state, is strong, and prosperous in busi- 
ness: for the state must protect the people while they toil 
at the many trades and professions through which they all 
live ami help society in its slew movement forward. 

In the third century, the Empire, that wonderful system 
which had grown up from the ideas of Julius Caesar and the 
organizing power o( Augustus, crumbled; but it was re- 
paired and built up again at the end of the century. All 
the dangers which marred the reign of Marcus Aurelius 
reappeared with redoubled violence — the plague, the horrors 
of continued wars, and attacks upon the borders of the 
Empire by the nations outside. Their terrible effects were 
accompanied by persecutions of the Christians, and the 
breaking down of that world-trade which had marked the 
greatness of the empire. The emperors, with few exceptions, 
were soldiers rather than statesmen. They could tear down 
their rivals by civil war. but knew not how to build up the 
Empire or even to rule it well. 

549. Septimius Severus, 193 211 A. D.— It was unfort- 
unate that Marcus Aurelius broke away from the method 

437 



438 



THE STORY OF ROME 



of the previous Antonines, of adopting some able man 
as the successor to the imperial power. Instead of this 
he made the mistake of appointing as emperor his own 
son, Commodus, who accomplished little worth recording in 
the twelve years of his rule (180-192 a. d.). When he was 
murdered and left no heir, the old weakness of the Roman 
imperial organization showed itself in the struggles over 
the succession. At first the imperial seat was auctioned off 
by the praetorian guard to a wealthy Roman, who paid a 

bribe of about one thou- 
sand dollars to each man 
of the guard. The news 
of this created an out- 
break in the armies upon 
the frontiers. In the civil 
wars which followed, 
Septimius Severus, com- 
mander of the legions 
upon the Danube, de- 
feated his rivals and was 
proclaimed emperor. 
Severus was born in nor- 
thern Africa. Thus a new 
portion of the Empire was represented in the emperor's office. 
The new ruler was a raw and violent soldier, who marked 
his advent in Rome and his conquest of his rival by bloody 
executions. He was the first of the soldier-emperors who 
did so much in the third century to destroy the old culture 
of the Roman state. The most notable occurrence of his 
reign is the great decrease in the power of the Senate. The 
old Senatorial treasury was taken away from the Senate's 
control and joined to the fiscus. Many offices formerly 
held by senators were now put in the hands of the knights 
or other retainers of the emperor. The double rule of the 
Senate and emperor was ended, and a monarchy which 
approached despotism took its place. 

550. House of Severus, 211-235 A. D. — Under Caracalla, 
(211-217 a. d.), the son and successor of Septimius Severus, 




Soldiers of the Pr.etorian Guard. 

The temple is one dedicated to the Capitoline 

Jupiter. 

Relief in the Louvre. 



THE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 439 

the famous edict was passed by which all free-born men in 
the domain of the Roman Empire were made citizens. The 
reason for this lies in the desire of Caracalla to obtain from 
the greatest number possible the five per cent tax on inheri- 
tances, which could only be levied on citizens. This edict 
closes the long period of the spread of Roman citizenship. 
During the Social War of 90-88 b. c, it had been extended 
over Italy. Through Julius Caesar, Claudius, Vespasian, 
and the Antonines, the scope of citizenship had been widened, 
until Caracalla made it general. 

The three successors of the house of Septimius Severus were 
all slain by the soldiers. The last of them, Alexander Severus, 
tried to be a good ruler, but was too weak to meet the condi- 
tions of the time. The soldiers even dared 
to cut down in his presence Ulpian, a great 
jurist, and the favorite minister of the 
emperor. 

551. The Influence of Women in the 
Empire. — In the development of Roman 
history since the time of Cornelia, mother 
of the Gracchi, able women were continu- 
ally playing a more important part in the ^head'ofTuTia™* 
politics of the Empire. Livia, wife of domna. 

Augustus, exercised a great influence upon The Legend i^ "Julia 
the policies of her son, Tiberius. Under 
Claudius and Nero, unscrupulous women took advantage of 
the weakness of those two emperors for their own advancement, 
or the advancement of favorites. In the time of the Severi, the 
importance of women in politics was very great. Julia Domna, 
a Syrian woman, wife of Septimius Severus, exercised great in- 
fluence over her son, Caracalla. Julia Maesa, the sister of Julia 
Domna, obtained the imperial seat for Elagabalus, and 
made him appoint Alexander Severus as his successor. 
Julia Mammaea, mother of Alexander Severus, practically 
conducted the rule for her weak son. On his coins, beside 
the head of Alexander, appears that of Julia Mammaea, 
who even accompanied him to the East to lead a war against 
the Persians. 




440 



THE STORY OF ROME 



On the whole, it must be conceded that the abilities of 
these women were not equal to the rough demands of the 
age. A place of activity, however, more suited in that rough 
age. to the character and abilities of women, was found for 
them in the new Christian communities. Here they were 
given equal privileges and opportunities for service with the 
men. In the work of charity, and as deaconesses in the 
church organizations, they held a deserved ami honorable 
place. 

552. The Province of Africa. — It is not an accident that 
the imperial office was held during this time by an African 
family, for northern Africa now had the most prosperous 
era in its entire history. Under the Roman rule, the civi- 
lization which developed there was astonishing. The grain 
supply of Italy, as we have seen, had shifted first from Italy 
to Sicily; thence, owing to the wearing out of the soil, it 
shifted to northern Africa and Egypt, where irrigation was 
highly developed. In northern Africa the heavy rainfall 

was caught and held 
in cisterns and large 
basins, and the outlet 
upon the fields was 
carefully regulated. 

The Roman land- 
owners of Africa did 
not use slaves, but 
found it more profit 
able to let out the 
land in small hold- 
ings to the coloni. In 
that country the ancient traveler saw great villas surrounded 
by the huts of peasants, who paid to the land-owners one-third 
of t heir crops as lease money. In t he desert of nort hern Africa . 
once richly covered with grain fields, the ruins of large cities 
are still to be found, one of them Timgad. almost rivaling Pom- 
peii in interest. In the fourth century, a. d., there was a great 
decline in the prosperity of Africa, when the imperial estates 
passed into the hands of landed proprietors, each owning 




Mosaic raosi tax Provihcb of Ajtuca. 

It Shows the Villa of a Great Land-Owner with its 
Surrounding Garden. 



THE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 441 

immense tracts oi grain land or pasture land, and the Land- 
lords moved to Rome or other large cities, so that the 
system became one oi absentee landlordism. This brought 
oppression upon the coloni, resulting in peasant outbreaks, 

which mined the agricultural interests oi the province. 
553. Shattering of the Empire, 235-270 A. D.— In the 
succeeding period, the weakness o( the Empire reached its 
climax. Of twenty-three emperors who ruled from 235 
to 2S5 a. d. onlv two died a natural death. One of these 











. . 




Ruins of Palmyra. 



two died as a prisoner of the Persians. Of the remainder, one 

was slain in battle, and the other twenty were murdered 
by their officers or soldiers 

The Empire seemed to be breaking into the many parts 
of which it was composed. The provinces were not defended 
by the central government from the attacks of barbarous 
neighbors. This was partially due to the many civil wars 
which busied the troops of the aspirants for the imperial 
seat. The provinces, therefore, undertook this defense 
themselves, and naturally attempted to be independent 
of the federal government. Gaul, for example, in the years 
259-272 v. d., maintained itself as a state independent of 
the dominion of Rome. 



442 THE STORY OF ROME 

554. The Kingdom of Palmyra. — The greatest of these 
independent kingdoms was located at Palmyra, a city 

situated in the Syrian desert, at a halting-place in the caravan 
route to the Euphrates River. Here, in a metropolis adorned 
with colonnades and Greek temples, a Syrian named Ode- 
nathus made himself practically independent of Rome. 
Upon his death, in 20b" a. d., his widow. Zenobia. ruled for 
her sons as Queen of the East. 

In Zenobia, the new position of women in the polities 
of the ancient world was justified by great ability. She 
was endowed with beauty road brains and purity of char- 
acter. She marched and rode with the soldiers and pre- 
sided like a man over her own council. Her ability is 
further attested by the fact that she wrote histories, the 
annals of Alexandria and the East, which unfortunately 
have not come down to us. 

555. Signs of the Weakening of the Empire. — The decline 
in the vigor and soundness of the Empire showed itself 
in many ways: 

1. In the political decay of the federal government and the 
civil wars fought between the soldier-emperors. 

2. In the inability of the Roman Empire to keep the barbar- 
ians outside of its boundaries. 

3. In the marked decay of the standards of Greco-Roman 
literature and art. 

4. In the continual decrease in population. The birth rate 
had decreased as it became more difficult for people to make a 
living. 

5. In the debasing of the coinage of the Empire. Cheaper 
metals were mixed with the silver and gold coins. Under 
Alexander Severns. the denarius, formerly a silver coin worth 
about sixteen cents, was minted almost entirely of copper, 
plated over with a thin layer of silver. 

556. Causes of the Decline. — Behind these outward signs 
which tell of the gradual sinking of ancient civilization, 
there were deep-lying causes. These are extremely hard 
to rind and explain. The tirst two are those which have 



[HE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 443 

already been noted as appearing in Italy before the time 
of the Gracchi: 

l. '. s During the anarchy 

of the third century need of money or of the ba dng of influen- 
tial m< .1 the emperors to sell or give away large sections 
of the imperial domain. The conductors, who leased the'emper- 

5 J lands for a long term of years or for lite, began to assert that 

they owned the lands leased by them, and the emperors were too 

weak to oppose their claims. In consequence a privileged class 

se, only a small per cent of the entire population, which held 

almost all the productive soil of the Empire; and the actual 

• done by the coloni. 

_ Degra : 0/ the coloni. In the two preceding centuries 
the em] - had protected the coloni in order that the Empire 

might have a stiv g - | in order to keep the great 

i-owners and lease-holders (the conductors'! in check. In the 
third and the following centuries this policy was changed. The 
emperors assed laws which favored the great land-owners at 
the \ - :' the coloni. The latter lost their right to strike 
when conditions .id, or to move away from the estates 

on which they worked in order to improve their lot. 

;• bound to ke a '.'. Hence the working classes lost 
their pride in the - and their interest in its political 

rirs. 

immens 5 ; / the Empire, and : 'jpment of abso- 

power in the hands of the ruler and his officials. Like the sys- 

m of land-holding, this helped to destroy the interest of the 
people in state affairs, and. more especially, in their own 
localities. The Greek ideal which had meant so much for 
civilization — the strong and free man. who threw himself into 
the actual service of the city and state — was destroyed by the 
imperial system. Servility and lack of enterprise had taken 
the place of the spirit of freedom. 

4. The all-embracing Empire of Rome developed too early in 
history. The ancient business world did not know how to meet 
the great problems which its world-trade produced. Th - 
problems included financial crises, the scarcity of money in cir- 
culation, the results of pestilence and continued failures 
crops, and the economic revolutions which follow in the train 



444 



THE STORY OF ROME 



war. The modern world understands better the causes of these 
movements, and the ways of meeting them. 

5. The coming in of the barbarian. When the Roman Empire 
became weakened from the causes given above, the barbarians 
from without came into the circle of the Greco-Roman world. 
Greco-Roman civilization was forced to take in this new and raw 
material, and thereby the whole level of its culture was lowered. 

557. Weakness on the Frontiers. — In 236 a. d., a tribe 
of Teutonic barbarians, the Alemanni crossed the Rhine, but 
were driven back. Two years later the Goths appeared on the 
Danube. From 240 to 270 a. d., bands of Germans and 
Goths repeatedly crossed into the Empire, and Gothic 
fleets numbering as many as five hundred ships set out from 
the Black Sea, robbing the coast cities of the Mediterranean 

and making its trade unsafe. 
In this period Dacia was lost 
forever, and the Danube again 
became the northern frontier 
of the Empire. 

East of the Euphrates the 
Persians rose up again and re- 
newed the old fight of the East 
and West on the soil of western 
Asia. A new family of Persian 
rulers, called the Sassanid dy- 
nasty, came to the throne. From 
230 to 280 a. d., they fought 
with the Roman emperors for 
control of western Asia, and 
were held in check only by 
the power of Palmyra, under Odenathus and Zenobia. 

558. Restoration of the Empire, 270-285 A. D. — In this 
period a succession of able soldiers began the work of re- 
storing the crumbling Empire. Aurelian (270-275 a. d.) 
deserves especial credit; for he whipped the Goths and 
Germans, restored the boundaries, and defended them 
strongly. He conquered the independent kingdom of 
Palmyra, and joined it again to the Empire. The queenly 




A Part of Atjrelian's Wall, as It 
now Stands. 




THE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMAN CIVILIZATION 445 

Zenobia preferred disgrace to death, and walked through 
the streets of Rome in the triumph of Aurelian, loaded 
with golden chains and jewels. 

In the neighborhood of the modern city of Rome may still 
be seen a part of the walls which Aurelian built to protect 
the capital. The need of these walls is significant of the new 
attitude of fear on the part of the capital 
which had once been the fearless mistress 
of the Mediterranean world. 

559. The Emperor Diocletian, 285-305 
A. D. — The men who restored the Empire 
were all of low birth, and all of the 
province of Illyria. The ambition to 
be emperor might arise in any man's 

, ,i,i •, Coin with Head of Dio- 

breast, and the opportunity come to any cletian. 

one. The emperor Diocletian, who seized it Reads: " imperator Dio- 
the power in the year 285 a. d., had risen clotianus Aug(ustus) -" 
rapidly in the army, although the son of a mere slave. He 
possessed a penetrating mind, was quick to see weaknesses and 
their remedies. He gave the Empire a bureaucratic organiza- 
tion better suited to the new demands and conditions of the 
time, and thereby enabled it to endure for two hundred 
years the blows which assailed it. 

560. His Reorganization of the Imperial System. — The first 
weakness to be remedied was the tendency of the Empire 
to disintegrate, due to its vast extent and the inability of 
the federal government to meet the task before it. Dio- 
cletian corrected this by dividing the task of governing the 
Empire. He took over the rule of the East ; his friend Maxi- 
mian became ruler of the West, each of them being called 
Augustus. Under each an assistant ruler was appointed, 
called Caesar, Galerius in the Balkan peninsula, Constantius 
over Gaul, Britain, and Spain. When the positions of the 
Augusti should become vacant through resignation or death, 
the Caesars were to step into their places, become Augusti, 
and appoint new Caesars as their assistants. 

Further, the provinces were made much smaller in size, 
and increased to 116. Several provinces were then united 



446 THE STORY OF ROME 

into a diocese. Neighboring dioceses were joined into a 
larger unit called a prefecture, of which there were four. 
In all these divisions the control of the army and the ad- 
ministration of the laws were placed in separate hands. 
Thus the officers of the provinces, dioceses, and prefectures 
had each a superior, and the whole organization centered 
in the persons of the Caesars and August i. 

The last step was now taken in the leveling of the influ- 
ence of Rome and Italy with that of the other parts of the 
Empire, by reducing the Roman Senate to a position little 
better than that of a city council. Rome was no longer the 
capital of the Empire, for Diocletian chose Nicomedia as the 
center of his rule, and Maximian made Mediolanum his 
headquarters. Absolutism was now fully established in 
the Empire, and a ceremonial grew up at these courts very 
much like that in the Persian courts of old. 

561. The System of Divided Powers Breaks Down. — In 
accordance with a decision of Diocletian, the two Augusti 
resigned in the year 305 a. d., and the Caesars took their 
place, Constantius in the West, Galerius in the East. When 
Constantius died in 306 a. d., four men laid claim to the 
title of Augustus of the West. These were Constantine, 
son of Constantius; Severus; Maxentius, son of Maximian; 
and Licinius, who had been appointed by Galerius and Dio- 
cletian. After six years of civil war, Constantine made 
himself sole ruler of the West, when he defeated Maxentius 
(312 a. d.) at the Milvian Bridge which crossed the Tiber 
River near Rome. In 314 a. d., Licinius became the sole ruler 
of the East, but was conquered in 324 a. d. by Constantine, 
who again united the Empire in the hands of a single ruler. 

562. The Development of Roman Law in the Third Cen- 
tury. — The Roman law, upon which much of the modern 
civil law has been built up, had its highest period of develop- 
ment during the decline of the Empire in the third century. 
The Antonines, in the second century, had done all they 
could to bring about a fixed method of procedure, and form 
a basis for future legal decisions. In doing this, they pro- 
duced a class of lawyers whose best examples appear under 



THE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMA X CIVILIZATIOX 447 

Alexander Severus. Ulpian, the Emperor's minister, and 
the lawyers Papinian and Julius Paulus, wrote text-books 
explaining the existing laws, and also made collections of 
test cases and legal decisions. These books contained the 
same kind of information as our lawyers have in their 
libraries to-day. The third century, therefore, is the period 
when a legal literature first began to appear. 

563. Christianity in the Third Century. — The local perse- 
cutions of Christianity under the Antonines had by no means 
stopped its growth. In fact, the bravery and sense of right 




A Restoration of the Roman Forum as It Appeared about 300 a. d. 
Restored by Gatteschi. 



with which the Christians met these persecutions had helped 
their cause. In the third century, several of the emperors 
seemed quite favorable to Christianity. Alexander Severus, 
for example, placed in a chapel in his palace images of Christ 
and Abraham, along with those of Homer, Cicero, and Ver- 
gil. He was not a Christian, but had learned in Syria, 
where he was born, to respect and follow Jewish and Chris- 
tian moral teachings. 

564. The Persecutions Under Decius. — Toward the mid- 
dle of the third century, the rapid spread of Christianity 
29 



448 



THE STORY OF ROME 



and its appearance in the Roman army stirred the fears of 
the emperors, who were afraid that the old pagan culture 
would be destroyed by the new Christian ideals. In addi- 
tion, the troubles of the time aroused the superstitions of 
the common people, who blamed the Christians as the 
cause of their woes. As an outcome of this, an effort was 
made in every part of the Empire to stamp out the religion. 
An official paper recently found in the excavations of a vil- 
lage in Egypt gives us a good idea of the extent of the per- 
secution which took place under Decius, 
249-251 a. d. No doubt thousands of 
Christians in every part of the Empire 
were forced to recant as did this man. 
The writer first describes himself; he then 
testifies before the Roman official: "I have 
always made offering to the gods, and now, 
in accordance with the Emperor's orders, 
have made offering in your presence and 
have eaten of the offering, and I beg you 
to bear witness to this fact below. Farewell. 
I, Aurelius Diogenes, have handed this in." 
Below, the official in charge has attested 
the paper: "I hereby certify that Aurelius 
has made offering. In the first year of the 
Emperor Caesar Gaius Messius Decius, the 
pious, the fortunate, the sublime." 

565. Diocletian Persecutes the Chris- 
tians. — Between the persecution of Decius 
and the time of Diocletian, Christianity 
rose rapidly into the upper circles of Roman society. 
The Christians had developed a strong and unified organiza- 
tion over the whole Empire under the Bishop of Rome in the 
West, and the churches of Antioch and Alexandria in the 
East. In attempting to unite the Empire again, Diocle- 
tian felt that he must restore its unity in religion. He there- 
fore determined to put an end to Christianity, and began a 
persecution which led finally to the victory of Christianity 
over all the pagan cults. 




E \ n ly Christian 
Statue of the Good 
Shepherd. 

It Shows the Strong 
Influence of the Greek 
Art. 



THE DECLINE OF GRECO-ROMAJS CIVILIZATION 449 

At first Diocletian's method was to put a ban on the 
Christians and thus keep able men away from the religion, 
rather than to inflict death upon the worshippers. He 
issued an edict that all Christian officials should lose their 
positions, the churches should be destroyed, and sacred 
books burned. All the clergy of the church were to be im- 
prisoned. The following year appeared the edict that all 
Christians must make offerings to the Roman gods and the 
emperor or suffer death. After these edicts came seven 
years of terror and martyrdom for the Christians, until they 
found freedom to worship under Constantine. 

566. The Christian Apologists. — The only virile literature 
of the period of the decline of the Empire is that which ap- 
pears in the controversy waged by Christian and pagan 
writers over the subject of Christ's teachings. Tertullian, a 
Carthaginian convert who died about 240 a. d., wrote a 
number of works in defense of his faith. These arc 4 marked 
by intense religious fervor and conviction of the justice of 
the cause. He insisted that the Roman officials and people 
should first come to know and understand Christianity be- 
fore they condemned it. 

Cyprian, the successor of Tertullian, was a wealthy pagan 
of Carthage. After his conversion he became an ardent 
worker in the church, and, finally, Bishop of Carthage. In 
the time of the persecutions and the plague, under Decius, 
he was a noble comforter to his congregation and the other 
people of the city. In 258 a. d. he was sentenced to death 
for refusing to sacrifice to the state gods. When the judge 
said, "It is our pleasure that Thascius Cyprianus be exe- 
cuted by the sword," he replied simply, " Thanks be to 
God." It is a small wonder that Christianity, supported by 
such men and such courage, should have overcome all op- 
position. 

References for Outside Reading 

Munro, Source Boole, pp. 171-174; Abbott, Short History of Rome, ch. 
13; Davis, Outline History of the Roman Empire, pp. 130-183; Seigno- 
bos, Ancient Civilization, pp. 332-346; Seignobos, History of the Roman 
People, ch. 25; Pelham, Outlines of Roman History, Book VI, ch. 2 



450 mi: srouv OF ROME 

and st '• 3; IV - 

h. S; I'hlhorn. 3 si«, pp. 

381; Jones, JPA« Eo . ch, 7 9. Good historical novels 

which deal with this period ai . bv William V\ . 

Topics for Oral or Written Keport 

1. A World Empire Sold it Auction. Gibho 

end • a. -1. firsi 1 3 | g - o ch % 

2. The Monks of rai Third Century, — Siegnobos, 

-342. 
o. T: lcombs 15 and CI - 

4. The Sale a\o Treatment of Slaves Under che Empire. — 

MunrO] s • R s 180-192; Pellison, 

R s ch, 4, 

5, The Public Gifts of Wealthi Romans Davis, h 

Wealth .' Rome, pp. 248-276. 



CHAPTER XL1 

THE FOURTH CENTURY. THE VICTORY OF 
CHRISTIANITY 

667. Constantine the Great. The title " The Great " was 
given t<> Constantine by an enthusiastic Christian historian. 
( Constantine was a man of tireless energy which was matched 
by boundless ambition. Nowhere < I i < I he use his gift of 
statesmanship better than in the handling <>!' Christianity. 
In the prefecture of Gaul, his father, Constantius, had dealt 
gently with the Christians, and Constantine saw that this 
policy procured the backing of the most aggressive element 
in the society of that day; for the 
Christians formed perhaps one-twelfth ,-A. 

of the population in the West. It is 

therefore probable that reasons of policy 
prompted ( Jonstantine to adopt t his atti- 
tude, although superstition and anxiety 
for his own eternal welfare may have 
played a part. 

568. Constantine Adopts the Christian 
Standards. The Christian writers of 
that day gave another reason for his 
favorable attitude toward their sect. 
They say that before the battle of the BuOT0F ( . ()NS ,, V1 , NI , 

Milvian Bridge he determined that he 

had best honor the Christian God, hoping that lie would 

help him to victory. 

"At midday, when the sua was beginning t<> decline, he saw 
the trophy of a cross of light in the heavens above the sun, bear- 
ing the inscription, "Conquer by this." At this sight he him- 
self was struck with amazement and his whole army also, which 
happened to he following him on some expedition and wit nessed 
t he miracle." 

451 



452 THE STORY OF ROME 

At the battle of the Milvian Bridge, the Christian stand- 
ard was first carried in the Roman army along with the 
time-honored Roman standards. 

569. Edict of Galerius, 311 A. D— In 311 a. d., Galerius, 
the Augustus in the East, was forced to grant to the Chris- 
tians the legal right to worship their God. " Since we see 
that in the present situation they neither duly adore and 
venerate the gods, nor yet worship the God of the Christians, 
we with our wonted clemency have judged it wise to extend 
a pardon even to these men, and to permit them once more 
to become Christians and reestablish their places of meet- 
ing." So ran the edict published by Galerius. 

This favorable action toward the Christians was followed 
in the year 313 a. d., by an order of Constantine and Licinius 
which granted general religious toleration. It is the so- 
called Edict of Milan. In it the Christians are especially 
mentioned, and their religion becomes a state religion, en- 
titled to the same privileges as the other religions of the 
state. 

570. Constantine Becomes Sole Emperor. — In 313 a. d., 
the Empire had but two rulers, Constantine and Licinius. 
The ambition of Constantine soon aroused open hostility 
between them. He continued his policy of favoring the 
Christians, by exempting the clergy from all burdens im- 
posed by the state upon its citizens, and by allowing dying 
men to will their property to the "holy and universal 
church." 

Licinius, on the other hand, became the representative of 
the pagan interests in the Empire. He drove the Christians 
from his court and oppressed them. The struggle which 
resulted between the two emperors grew into a last terrible 
contest between Christianity and paganism. The victory 
of Constantine, in a bloody battle in Asia Minor in the 
year 324 a. d., was decisive, not only for his own career, but 
for Christianity as well. 

571. The Capital Changed to Constantinople. — Constan- 
tine ended the movement which had lowered the influence 
of Rome and Italy to a level with that of the provinces, by 



THE VICTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 



453 



establishing a new capital of the Empire upon the old site 
of Byzantium, calling it Constantine's City, or Constan- 
tinople. For many reasons the change was good. From 
the new center the boundaries along the Danube could be 
more easily reached and defended. Furthermore, Constan- 
tinople was much nearer the dangerous Persian frontier, 




Arch of Constantine at Rome. 

and had a much better commercial situation than had 
Rome. 

The site of Constantinople has from the earliest time con- 
trolled the entrance to the Black Sea with all its trade. 
Even to-day the powers of Europe watch the city jealously, 
and the present Turkish Empire retains its hold upon Con- 
stantinople chiefly because the other nations cannot allow 
this important strategic point to fall to any one European 
power. 

In addition to the advantages which the site of Constanti- 
nople offered, Constantine felt that the new emperor with 
his absolute powers must have a new abode. For in Rome 
the old stories of the freedom and privileges of the people 
were still told, and the city might be a dangerous capital for 



454 THE STORY OF ROME 

an absolute government. In Constantinople, which lay 
upon the border of the Orient, the Oriental court, with 
its Eastern ceremonies and its reverence of the emperor, 
would not arouse the same hatred and opposition as at 
Rome. 

572. Building of the City. — The new city was built on a 
scale of magnificence equal to its importance. It covered a 
space three times as large as the old city of Byzantium. 
Three forums were marked off, designed to rival those of 
Rome, and surrounded with porticoes of marble. A great 
circus was built to match the Flavian amphitheater at Rome. 
Public baths and theaters provided for the comfort and 
amusement of the people. The streets of the city were filled 
with statues of marble and bronze, taken from the other cities 
of the Empire far and near. The favorites of Constantine 
swarmed into the new city, and received palaces as gifts 
of the emperor. The promise of grain, bread, and wine 
drew the common people in great numbers, so that the capi- 
tal soon grew to an immense size. 

It is noteworthy that Christian churches were built there, 
but no new pagan temples, showing that it was Constan- 
tine' .:. intention to make it the center of Christian influence. 
The city was so well fortified with walls that it guarded the 
old Greek civilization and the new religion for a thousand 
years, first from Persian attack, and then from the on- 
slaughts of Mohammedan fanaticism. It was from Con- 
stantinople that Christianity was carried into the Balkan 
states and Russia. 

573. The Council at Nicaea, 325 A. D. — After his victory 
over Licinius, Constantine found the church of the East, 
from the highest officials down to the humblest followers, 
quarreling with desperate earnestness about Christ's nature. 
Arius, a young priest of Alexandria, was the leader of a party 
which maintained that Christ was created by God and 
created since time began. Athanasius, another member of 
the clergy of Alexandria, asserted that Christ the Son was 
the same as God the Father and that Christ had always 
existed as had God. 



THE VICTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 455 

Constantine wished to unite the warring Christians who 
had helped him to gain power. He therefore called a meeting 
of the bishops and other church officers from all parts of the 
empire at Nicsea, in Asia Minor, to settle the difficulty. 
Accordingly over three hundred bishops and many lesser 
officials assembled there, Constantine himself presiding. 
Athanasius was supported by a great majority of those 
present, and his view became the orthodox or accepted 
belief. 

574. Importance of the Church Councils. — This council 
is the first world council of the church, and many others 
were called by the emperors who followed Constantine 
in the fourth century. From these general meetings, three 
important ideas resulted: 

1. The emperors came to feel that the leadership of the church 
was represented in their own person. They themselves or their 
deputies presided at the councils, and the bishops, so long as the 
policy of the state pleased them, accepted the view that the 
emperor was the head of the church. 

2. The church found in these councils a method of reaching an 
agreement on disputed points of doctrine. 

3. Through the unity of belief obtained at these meetings, the 
church itself became a single unit. Representatives came from 
all quarters of the world, and returned home with a feeling that 
the church was a single great organization. Because it worked 
as one great body with a single purpose, the church was able to 
spread Christianity and civilization among the barbarian Teu- 
tonic tribes, and to resist successfully the attacks of Moham- 
medanism which began in the seventh century. This unity of 
the church was all the more important because the Empire 
itself began to break apart as the church organization grew more 
compact, until finally, the unity of the old Roman world was 
kept alive in the church alone. 

575. Division of the Empire. — Constantine died in 337 
a. d., and divided the rule of the Empire among his three 
sons and two nephews. After years of intrigue, murder, and 
civil war, Constantius, the second son, in the year 353 a. d., 



456 THE STORY OF ROME 

found himself sole emperor. Although he was able and 
active, the Empire seemed too great for a single ruler to 
defend. Reluctantly Constantius named his cousin Julian 
as Caesar in the West. Julian justified this appointment by 
driving back the German Alemanni in 355 a. d., near Strass- 
burg, and stopping the German advance in that direction 
for some time. 

576. The Pagan Reaction under Julian. — The policy of 
Constantine, namely of supporting the church and ruling it, 
had been followed out by his sons. Constantius went so 
far as to order the pagan temples to be closed, and to issue 
a law forbidding sacrifices. This severity brought about a 
reaction against Christianity under Julian, in the years 
361-363 a. d. Upon his accession he gave an equal tolera- 
tion to all religions. He allowed no persecution of the 
Christians, but favored the old gods in every way by his 
own writings and his great influence. He forced the Chris- 
tians to contribute to the rebuilding of the pagan temples, 
and took away the privileges which had been granted to the 
clergy. The time, however, had passed when the progress 
of the church could be stopped by these means, and imme- 
diately upon the death of Julian, Christianity was restored 
to its former privileged position. 

577. The Imperial Rule Again Divided. — In 364 a. d., a 
capable general from Pannonia named Valentinian, was made 
emperor. He found it necessary to divide the administra- 
tion of the Empire and give the rule of the eastern half to his 
brother, Valens. In the West, Valentinian was successful 
in defending his territory from the repeated attempts of the 
German tribes to break over the Rhine into Gaul. In the 
East, in 376 a. d., Valens was forced to admit the Germanic 
Visigoths into the territory south of the Danube, This tribe 
had been forced southward and westward by the Huns, a 
fierce and barbarous Asiatic tribe which had swept into Eu- 
rope from the wide plains to the north and east of the Cas- 
pian Sea. Thus the Visigoths came into conflict with the 
Empire, and, in 378 a. d., Valens was defeated by them and 
killed at the battle of Hadrianople. 




THE VICTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 457 

578. Theodosius: the Imperial Power Again in One 
Hand. — He was succeeded by Theodosius the Great, an effi- 
cient soldier who kept the Visigoths quiet, defeated several 
rebellious officers in the West, and finally, in 394 a. d., 
became ruler of the entire Empire. Theodosius is the last 
sovereign who ruled over the old Roman 

Empire in its entire extent; for the 
division made between his two sons at 
his death, in 395 a. d., was a real separa- 
tion into two empires, the Eastern and 
the Western. 

579. Theodosius Suppresses the 
Pagan Worship. — Although the views of 
Athanasius had been accepted at Nicsea 
as the true belief of the church, the 
Christian world was still torn asunder GoL theodosius. N ° F 
by the struggle of the followers of Arius rhe Legend Reads: 
against the accepted creed. Several of the " D(ominus) N(oster) Theo- 

, ,. />, . .. . ,. dosius, P(ius) F(elix) 

emperors, including Constantine in his Aug(ustus)." 
later years, were converted to the views 
of Arius. When such a conversion was made, the Athanasians 
suffered bitter oppression. When they returned to power, 
the lot of the Arians was quite as hard. With the death of 
Valens, who was a zealous Arian, the matter was settled for- 
ever so far as the Empire was concerned, in favor of the 
Athanasian belief. During the century, however, Arianism, 
as the doctrine of Arius was called, had spread among the 
barbarian tribes, Visigoths, Ostrogoths and Vandals, and was 
destined to cause great misery during the following century. 
In the latter part of the fourth century, the decline of the 
pagan worship was rapid. In 394 a. d., Theodosius put a 
stop to the Olympic games, which had been celebrated for 
more than a thousand years. Although this had little im- 
portance in really stopping the pagan worship, it marks 
better than any other date the approaching twilight of the 
ancient world which we have been studying; for the Greek 
civilization of the Empire seemed to be well typified by the 
games so long held at Olympia. 



458 THE STORY OF ROME 

Much more effective were the harsh laws which Theo 
dosius passed against the pagans. He declared the worship 
of the pagan gods a crime against the state, and refused the 
protection of the laws to any but Christians. 

580. Ambrose, Bishop of Milan. — The wonderful growth 
of the influence of Christianity is well shown by an incident 
in Theodosius' life. The people of Thessalonica had re- 
volted and murdered men of his garrison, including some 
officers. In a burst of rage Theodosius sent an order which 
resulted in the massacre of over 7,000 citizens of the un- 
lucky town. When the great emperor next went to wor- 
ship in the Cathedral of Milan he was met by Ambrose, the 
bishop of the city, who refused to allow him to enter the 
Cathedral or partake of the communion until he had ful- 
filled a long penance for his crime. The master of the 
Mediterranean world, whose word might bring death to a 
city of men, was cowed by the word of a bishop, whose only 
power lay in the cross and the influence of his priestly office. 

581. Beginnings of the Church Organization. — The first 
Christian churches established after Christ's crucifixion were 
founded in the great trade and political centers of the Em- 
pire, such as Antioch, Alexandria, Corinth, Carthage, and 
Rome. From these centers branch churches were sent out 
to other cities along the great highways which ran out of 
the capitals. Just as the cities of the Empire were the unit 
of its political life, so were they the unit of the growth of 
the church. The head of the church in each city was called 
the bishop, or overseer. Because of the size of their con- 
gregations the bishops in the larger cities assumed a posi- 
tion of importance as leaders of the bishops in the smaller 
cities. They began to summon meetings of the other bishops 
in the same province. This led, about 250 a. d., to a group- 
ing of the churches by provinces, with the bishop of the 
capital city as its head. He was given the title of metro- 
politan. When Const ant ine called the general council of the 
bishops and other church officers from the entire Empire at 
Nicsea, in 325 a. d., the church appeared as a unified society, 
embracing all Christian congregations of the Empire. 



THE VICTORY OF CHRISTIANITY 459 

582. Supremacy of the Bishop of Rome. — The position of 
Rome as the capital of the Empire and the center of its trade 
gave the bishop of Rome a natural leadership over all the 
churches of the West. In the fourth, fifth, and sixth cen- 
turies the claim of his leadership was emphasized by the 
following arguments : 

1. That Christ himself had designated the apostle Peter as 
supreme among the apostles. 

2. That Peter had founded the church at Rome. 

3. That the bishops of Rome who succeeded Peter were the 
legitimate leaders of all Christianity, deriving their power from 
Christ through Peter. 

This doctrine of the supremacy of the Roman bishop has 
always been one of the basic convictions of the Roman Cath- 
olic church, but the authority of the Bishop of Rome 
(the Pope) is not acknowledged by the various Protestant 
churches which have sprung up since the sixteenth century. 

583. The Church Adopts the Form of the Roman Empire. — 
After the council of Nicaea the church developed rapidly. 
In the system of the Roman Empire, as it existed after the 
reorganization of Diocletian and Constantine, the church 
found a model of efficient administration, the general plan 
of which it closely followed. A church state arose within the 
political world state of Rome, corresponding to it in its gen- 
eral divisions and officials as follows: 

The World Empire The Universal Church 

City-state — Municipal officials. City-state church — Bishop. 

Province — Governor. Church province — Metropol- 

itan. 

Diocese — Vicarius. Church Diocese — Patriarch. 

Prefecture — Prefect. (No corresponding division.) 

Empire — Emperor. Catholic (Universal Church) 

— Bishop of Rome. 

Long after the Roman Empire had been shattered, its won- 
derful organization and the idea of the unity of the ancient 
world were preserved in the church. Long after Rome had 



460 THE STORY OF ROME 

Lost its position as the political capital of the world, it still 
retained its preeminence as the religions center of the Chris- 
tian world; and in the Catholic Church of to-day the or- 
ganization of the great Roman Empire, though somewhat 
changed, still exists. 

References for Outside Reading 

Robinson, Readings in European History, vol. I, pp. 19-27: Sei^no- 
boSj Ancient Civilization, pp. 346-359; Pelham, Outlines of Roman 
History, pp. 577-5S0: Robinson, History of Western Europe, pp. 20-24; 
Bradley. Story of the Goths, ch. 3-9: Hodgkin, Dynasty of TheodosiUs, 
pp. 23-32, 100-133: Bemont and Monod, Mediaeval Europe, ch. 1; 
Seignobos, History of the Roman People, ch. 20-27; Adams, Civilization 
During the Middle Ages, pp. 4S-04; Uhlhorn, Conflict of Christianity 
with Heathenism, pp. 420-479. 

For excellent short stories on the conditions in Roman Britain in the 
fourth century, see Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill, the stories entitled 
"A Centurion of the Thirtieth," "On the Great Wall," and -The 
Winged Hats." These are also to be found in the issues of McClure's 
Magazine for May, June and July of 1900. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. The New Capital of Constanttne. — Gibbon, Decline and Rail 

of the Roman Empire, ch. 17 (beginning). 

2. Student Life ix the Fourth Century. — Abbott. Society and 

Politics in Ancient Rome. pp. 201-200; Cutts, St Jerome, ch. 3. 

3. Rome ix the Fourth Century. — Cutts. St. Jerome, ch. 2. 

4. Civil War Between Maximus and Theodostus 387-388 

a. d.) and Its Effects on Conditions in Britain. — See the 
two stories. "On the Great Wall" and '-The Winged Hats," 
by Kipling in Puck of Pook's Hill; Gibbon, Decline and Fall of 
the Roman Empire, in ch. 27. 



CHAPTER XLII 
THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 



584. The Danger from the North. — The revolt of the Visi- 
goths, which resulted in the defeat of Valens in the year 
378 a. d., was not an unexpected happening. Throughout 
the history of the Greek states and of Rome, the forests of 
northern Europe have been the homes of the wild tribes of 
Scythians, Germans, and Gauls. These tribes needed a 
great area to maintain them, because they had not outgrown 
the hunting stage of existence. At intervals, one or another 
of them nearest the Greek and Roman borders would be dis- 
lodged and forced down into the rich and smiling land of the 
south. Inspired by the hope of great booty, they came down 
to meet defeat and death, or slavery, because of the better 
military tactics and arms of the more civilized Greeks and 
Romans. Examples of such movements are the Gallic in- 
vasion, which resulted in the burning of Rome in 382 b. c; 
the movements 
of the Cimbri 
and Teutons, 
who were driven 
back by Marius; 
the invasion of 
Gaul by the Ger- 
mans under Ari- 
ovistus, which 
was checked by 
Caesar; and the 
movement which brought on the border wars when Marcus 
Aurelius fought against the barbarians along the upper 
Danube. 

As one reviews these attacks from the north, it becomes 
clear that the Roman Empire must keep its strength un- 

461 




Fortifications Along the Danube in the Time of 
Marcus Aurelius. 

From a Roman Relief. 



462 THE STORY OF ROME 

weakened in order to repel them. The danger was seen 
quite clearly by the Roman emperors themselves. It is the 
glory of the Empire that it met this great task so success- 
fully and for so long; but the time of weakness had come 
when the northern nations were to pour their surplus popula- 
tion across the borders. A new people with new ideas and a 
different character came into the Empire, and changed it so 
completely that the time we now discuss may be called 
" the twilight of the ancient world." 

585. Description of the Germans.— In the story of his 
campaigns in Gaul. Julius Caesar has described the Germans 
living east of the Rhine and north of the Alps as a people 
who did not care to raise crops. They lived upon milk and 
cheese and the meat they got from their herds, or by hunt- 
ing. Over a century later Tacitus wrote his Germanta, in 
which he stated that the blood of the Germans was unmixed 
with that of other races "Hence among such a mighty 
multitude of men the same make and form is found in all; 
eyes stern and blue, yellow hair, huge bodies, but vigorous 
only in the first onset." They wore the skin- oi wild beasts 
for clothing. In Tacitus' time they had not yet settled 
down to agricultural life, though they raised small crops as 
they moved about their forests. They were hard drinkers 
and hard lighters. 

586. The Empire Uses the Barbarians. — As the pressure 
upon the northern frontier increased, the Roman govern- 
ment showed a tendency to use the strength of the bar- 
barians for its own needs. Even Julius Caesar enlisted the 
stalwart Germans in his army. This practice increased as 
time passed. In the dangerous period of his wars with the 
Mareomanni, Marcus Aurelius hired whole tribes of the Ger- 
mans to tight against their kinsmen. In the terms oi peace 
which he made with one of the tribes that he conquered, 
they agreed to furnish 8,000 horsemen for the Roman army. 

587. They are Taken in as Coloni. — He saw. too that the 
northern provinces, which had lost heavily in population from 
the war and the plagues, must be filled up. So he allowed 
the barbarians to come in peacefully in great numbers, and 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 463 

settle down as coloni. The state gave them land to culti- 
vate 1 , and left them free. In return for this they agreed to 
give military service, and they were bound to the soil; that 
is, they were not allowed to sell or to leave the lands given 
them. By this action Marcus acknowledged the internal 
weakness of the Empire, and its inability to defend its own 
borders unaided. He began a movement which ended in 
making the northern provinces partially German long before 
the real invasion began. 

588. The Huns. — For some reason the German tribes did 
not take advantage of the anarchy and civil wars which 
shattered the empire during the third century. About the 
middle of the fourth century their attacks upon the Rhine 
frontier became dangerous, but they were driven back, as 
we have seen, by Julian, after a bloody battle near Strass- 
burg in 355 a. d. 

It was about the year 374 a. d., when the Huns, an Asiatic 
people whose racial relations are unknown, moved irresis- 
tibly into Europe from the broad plains of western Asia, and 
changed the whole aspect of the world by the movements 
which their invasion caused among the tribes of Europe. 
Fierce warriors though the Germanic tribes of the Ostrogoths 
and Visigoths were, they were panic-stricken by the attack 
oi the Huns. Something of the terror which these men in- 
spired in the Gothic tribes is seen in the pages of Jordanes, a 
Gothic historian who wrote about 550 a. d. He states that 
" five nations were swept away by that whirlwind of savage 
tribes. Their faces wore a frightful blackness and re- 
sembled, if I may say so, shapeless lumps of dough rather 
than faces, having two black points in them instead of 
eyes." He describes them as little in stature, but nimble 
and clever in their movements, and especially skilled in 
horsemanship. To increase the terror of their appearance, 
they were wont to gash the faces of their male children 
with knives. 

589. The Visigoths Cross the Danube. — The Ostrogoths, 
living above the northwestern coast of the Black Sea, were 
conquered by these wild Huns. Some, who could not bear 

30 



404 



THE STORY OF ROME 



the Hunnish yoke, fled across the Dniester and joined the 
Visigoths. In terror at the attack which they expected, 
the Visigothic nation fled in 376 a. d. to the Danube, and 
begged for admission into Roman territory. They felt, 
and justly so, that the mighty arm of Rome would protect 
them. 

The Emperor Valens thought it best to admit them, for 
thousands of Germans had already come in as coloni, though 
never before an entire nation, without apparent harm to the 
Empire. Valens made the condition that the Goths were 




Early Homes of the Germanic Tribes and the Huns. 

to give up their arms, and the Goths obtained the promise 
of a supply of food until their first crop should ripen. 

590. Battle of Hadrianople, 378 A. D. — On these condi- 
tions, about 200,000 fighting men of the Visigoths, with their 
wives and children, crossed the Danube, and moved into the 
almost deserted fields of Moesia. They were systematically 
robbed by the imperial officers who were detailed to see that 
the agreements were carried out. Driven to desperation, 
they revolted in the year 378 a. d., and marched against 
Constantinople. Valens met them with a large army near 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 465 

Hadrianople. In the defeat which followed Valens met his 
death, together with two-thirds of his army. The battle is 
memorable as being the first great defeat of the Roman 
army by any of the northern barbarians within the Roman 
territory since the days of the Cimbri and Teutons. The 
barbarians learned that they could cut their way into the 
Empire with the sword, and could meet the Roman forces 
successfully on the field of battle. 

591. German Ebment in the Army. — Theodosius made 
peace with the Visigoths, and by fair treatment induced them 
to return to the lands assigned them before. He carried on 
the old policy of enlisting the Goths and other Germans in his 
armies. This policy kept them quiet, but the German color- 
ing of the army grew stronger than ever. In the end, the re- 
sult of this movement was an excellent thing for the Empire. 
The Germans, it is true, became acquainted with the Roman 
military tactics and adopted the Roman arms, and were, on 
this account, becoming continually more dangerous. On 
the other hand, they learned to admire the higher civilization 
of the Roman world and to desire it for themselves. 

In the Roman armies, the ablest of the Germans began to 
take leading positions beside the Roman generals themselves. 
One of these, the son of a Vandal chieftain who had been 
employed in the army of Theodosius, was vested with the 
supreme command of the army of the western portion of the 
Empire upon the death of Theodosius. This was Stilicho, 
the first great German leader who appears as a defender of 
the Roman world against the attacks of his own people. 

592. Stilicho and Alaric, 395-411 A. D. — In the service 
of the two emperors, Axcadius and Honorius, sons of Theo- 
dosius, Stilicho spent his life and met his death. His 
greatest opponent was the young Visigoth chieftain, Alaric, 
who had been reared in the Roman territory below the 
Danube and trained in the army of Theodosius. He had 
P Tceived the weakness of the two emperors, and became 
ambitious for a greater place for his people than that of 
subjects and mercenary soldiers. Accordingly, in the year 
of the death of Theodosius (395 a. d.), he invaded Greece, 



400 



THE STORY OF ROME 




German Women in Oni of Theib Wagons, Led 
\- Captives by Roman Soldiers. 
in Relief. 



plundered Athens, and captured and destroyed Corinth. 
Then his army was defeated and further advance checked 
by the skillful generalship of Stilicho. The Eastern em- 
peror, Arcadius, to rid himself of this danger, bestowed 
upon Alarie the province of Illyricum, where the Visigoth 

nation remained for 
a number oi years. 
Meantime Stilicho 
was busied with the 
de ton so of It: 
against another 
horde oi Germans, 
whom he met suc- 
cessfully. Hut his 
grea t abilities, 
whet her just Ivor not, 
aroused the suspicion 
in the mind of Ho- 
norius and his ad- 
visers, the party opposed to the growing influence of the 
Germans, that he was planning to make his own son emperor. 
Therefore he was treacherously assassinated at the instigation 
of the emperor who owed him so much gratitude. 

The death of Stilicho removed, the only formidable oppo- 
nent from the pathway of Alarie, the Visigoth. He led his 
troops from Illyricum down into Italy, and captured Rome 
itself in the year 410 a. d. Though the accounts of contem- 
porary writers vary greatly, it is certain that the city was 
not seriously injured, although the Visigothic soldiers 
plundered at will, hi the following year Alarie' died, and 
was buried in the bed of a river which his followers had 
turned out of its course. When they had again turned the river 
back into its old channel, they killed the captives who had 
helped in the work, in order to keep secret the location of the 
grave of the young leader. 

593. The Visigothic and Vandal Kingdoms. — While Alarie 
had been in Illyricum and in Italy, a mixed band of Ger- 
mans, chiefly Vandals, had crossed through Gaul and es ab- 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 467 

lished themselves in Spain. The Visigothic leaders, suc- 
cessors of Alaric, accepted a commission from Emperor 
Honorius to reconquer Spain for the Empire; and so we 
again see the German tribes used by the Empire, in its own 
work of defense. However this force was now entirely Ger- 
man instead of being a combination of Germans and Romans. 

The Vandals in Spain were forced southward by the Visi- 
goths until, in 427 a. d., they finally crossed over into Africa. 
Under their leader Gaiseric, a fanatical Arian Christian, 
about 80,000 Germans were able to subdue the province of 
Africa, in the years 429-439 a. d. Here they maintained 
themselves for about 100 years, the most cruel and barbaric 
of the German hordes who came into the Empire, until 
Africa was reconquered and joined again to the Roman 
Empire in the time of the Emperor Justinian. 

The Visigoths settled in Spain and in the old Gallic prov- 
ince of Aquitaine, ruling these countries until the invasion 
of the Mohammedans in the eighth century. They were in 
name the subjects of the Emperor of the West. In fact, 
their state was an independent one, its population Roman- 
Gallic, under the domination of Germanic conquerors who 
rapidly became one with the conquered people. How soon 
they learned that their interests were the same as those of 
the people under them is proved by the story of the invasion 
of the Huns. 

594. The Huns Under Attila. — The wild and terrifying 
hordes of Huns who had first driven the Visigoths out of 
their ancient home across the Danube, remained inactive 
for almost a century upon the northern frontier. A great 
leader named Attila gained the power over their scattered 
tribes, and, in the year 451 a. d., crossed the Rhine into 
Gaul. His purpose was to pillage and increase his power, 
and he was as ready to conquer and plunder the Germanic 
tribes of Gaul and Spain as to overthrow the power of the 
Roman emperor in Italy. The danger to the civilization of 
western Europe was a grave one. If Attila had been able to 
overthrow the Visigothic kingdom in the west, the develop- 
ment of the Roman world would have been greatly retarded. 



468 THE STORY OF ROME 

For the Visigoths had become much more civilized since they 
had entered the Empire, and their Roman-Gallic subjects 
lived contentedly under their sway. The Huns were still 
barbarians, with ideas little above those of plunder and 
wanton destruction. Their defeat saved the Roman world 
the necessity of repeating the task of civilization which she 
had already partially completed in the case of the Visigoths. 
The Visigoths now showed that they had accepted the des- 
tiny of the Roman Empire and its culture as their own. 
They joined with the forces of the Roman emperor, which 
were led by a Romanized German named Aetius. At the 
great battle of Chalons in 451 a. d., the advance of Attila 
was stopped, and his troops were forced to retreat across the 
Rhine. In the next year he crossed the Alps into Italy; 
but Italy had no fresh German nation like the Visigoths to 
meet him. Accordingly, the emperor sent an embassy 
headed by the Bishop of Rome, Leo the Great, to induce 
him to spare Rome and Italy. The mission was successful, 
and Attila abandoned his design of marching upon Rome. 
In the following year, 453 a. d., he died, and the great army 
held together by his genius, soon dispersed, u a vanished 
nightmare of the nations." 

595. Increasing Importance of the Germans. — The history 
of the next forty years brings out distinctly the growing 
influence of the German element of the Western Empire. 
The Germans gained this influence because they furnished 
the bulk of the Roman armies, and supplied it with its ablest 
generals. A Suevian German, named Ricimer, was prac- 
tically the monarch of the Western Empire. He did not 
dare to take the title of emperor but ruled through the 
agency of " shadow emperors," men whom he raised to, or 
deposed from, the imperial throne at will. 

596. Cessation of the Roman Imperial House in the West. 
— In 475 a. d. a Roman boy called Romulus Augustulus was 
made Emperor of the West by his father, Orestes, who ruled 
the Empire under the title of patrician. In the next year, 
Orestes and the boy emperor were overthrown by the Ger- 
man troops which had raised them to power. The leader of 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 469 

the revolt was a German, Odoacer by name. Though the 
western world lay at his feet, Odoacer did not have the con- 
fidence to declare himself emperor. Instead he had the 
Roman Senate send the imperial robes and insignia to the 
emperor at Constantinople, acknowledging him as the Em- 
peror of the West also. The ambassador requested that 
Odoacer be made ruler of the diocese of Italy, under the 
title of patrician. 

Formerly the date 476 was regarded as marking the fall 
of the Empire in the West. Its only importance, however, 
is to give the date at which the line of emperors begun by 
Augustus Caesar was ended in western Europe. The rulers 
who had swayed the destinies of the Roman world for 500 
years had been at first Romans, then provincial Roman citi- 
zens. Now a new people, the Germans, were supplying the 
brains and energy which were to guide the policies of west- 
ern Europe. So the year 476 a. d. is to be remembered as 
the time when the change of leadership from the Romans to 
the Germans is practically acknowledged. It is a strange 
whim of history that the last ruler of Roman blood should 
have borne the name Romulus Augustulus, "the little 
Augustus." For these are the names of Romulus, the 
fabled founder of the Roman city, and the actual organizer 
of the Roman Empire, Augustus Caesar. 

597. Theodoric Overthrows Odoacer. — Near the middle of 
the fifth century the East-Gothic nation, the Ostrogoths, had 
moved across the Danube river, and were settled in the 
province of Pannonia. They were " allies " of the Eastern 
emperor, defending the frontier against their northern neigh- 
bors. Theodoric, the young son of the Ostrogothic king, 
was kept for ten years at the court at Constantinople, as 
hostage for the good behavior of his nation. Here he grew 
up, surrounded by the luxury and beauty of the great city. 
He came to understand the meaning of its civilization, and 
developed a taste for politics and a clear insight into its 
workings. After he became king of th° Ostrogoths, he gov- 
erned the people in Pannonia for years, at the same time 
holding an official position under the Eastern emperor. 



470 THE STORY OF ROME 

The good feeling between Odoacer in Italy and the East- 
ern emperor, Zeno, had meantime turned to enmity. In 
488 a. d., Theodoric asked for and received the commission 
to reconquer Italy for the Empire. With his entire nation 
at his back, numbering probably 200,000, he moved into 
Italy, and after five years of hard fighting captured Odoacer 
in the city of Ravenna. Though he had promised to spare 
Odoacer's life, Theodoric with his own sword cut down his 
captive at a banquet. 

598. Character of Theodoric. — If we place against this 
treacherous act and several other deeds of cruelty, the im- 
mense good which the great Ostrogoth accomplished, the 
balance drawn will be greatly in his favor. For thirty-three 
years (493-526 a. d.) he ruled nobly as actual king of the 
Romans and Goths in Italy, though he seemed to acknowl- 
edge a vague dependence upon the emperor at Constanti- 
nople. With remarkable tact and patience he tried to teach 
his Gothic and Roman subjects how to live in peace. A 
contemporary Roman historian has praised his justice in the 
following words : 

"Theodoric was an extraordinary lover of justice, and adhered 
rigorously to the laws. There was in his government scarcely a 
trace of injustice toward his subjects, nor would he permit any 
of those under him to attempt aii} r thing of the kind, except that 
the Goths divided among themselves the same proportion of the 
land of Italy which Odoacer had allotted to his partisans." 

599. His Work as an Organizer and Ruler. — History tells 
us little of the system under which Theodoric ruled his two 
peoples. Something is known, however, of the results of 
his work. The aqueducts which brought water to the 
Italian cities were cleansed and repaired, and the walls and 
buildings of the cities were restored. In the quiet years of 
his reign, farming and grain-raising in Italy became much 
more general. By careful management Theodoric put the 
treasury of the state into good condition without increasing 
the taxes upon his people. He was wise enough not to at- 
tempt to force upon the two peoples a feeling of unity which 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 471 

time alone could bring about. Side by side they were to 
live, the Romans practicing the arts of peace and develop- 
ing their industries, the Goths, as soldiers, keeping the 
peace, and protecting the land from invasion. 

600. Foreign Alliances of Theodoric. — Theodoric strength- 
ened his state by making alliances with the other rising Ger- 
manic states of the West. His people retained the feeling 
of blood relationship with the Visigoths of Spain. This tie 
was strengthened by the marriage of a princess of his family 
to a young Visigothic king. Late in his career, Theodoric 
became the actual ruler of southern France and the Visi- 
gothic portion of Spain. He married another daughter to the 









i isfe 



Roman 



*8fe 



Aqueduct near Nimes in Southern France. 
It is Still Used as a Bridge. 



king of the Burgundians, a German tribe which had con- 
quered the valley of the upper Rhine and had settled there. 
He himself married the sister of Clovis, the able king of the 
Franks. This tribe of Germans had moved across the Rhine 
into the northern part of France, and was rapidly gaining 
power over the Netherlands and all northern Gaul. It seemed 
as if Theodoric would establish a great kingdom including 
all the German nations in western Europe, and combining 
German vigor with Roman civilization in one great whole. 

601. Later Years of Theodoric. — It was, however, unfor- 
tunate for the development of the Ostrogothic kingdom that 



472 



THE STORY OF ROME 



- ,t3E 



the Goths had early been converted to the Arian creed of 
Christianity. This fact was one of the chief reasons which 
account for the failure of Theodoric's attempt to amalga- 
mate his own people and his Roman subjects in Italy, who 
followed the Athanasian belief of the Catholic Church. As 
we have seen, the king tried to be tolerant and just to all 
his subjects alike, consequently he could not understand 
why the Christians should persecute the Jews. When their 
synagogues in Milan and Ravenna were burned in a re- 
ligious frenzy against them, Theodoric punished the offend- 
ers, and made them pay for the building of new synagogues. 

This aroused bit- 
terness between 
the ruler and his 
subjects of 
the orthodox 
church. 

The racial feel- 
i n g of the 
Romans against 
their Gothic con- 
querors was thus 
inflamed. Accu- 
sations of treason 
were brought be- 
fore Theodoric against some of the noblest of the Roman 
senators and officials in his service. Boethius, head of 
the civil service under Theodoric, and his father-in-law 
Symmachus, head of the Roman Senate, both men of learn- 
ing, were condemned to death on the charge of treason, and 
executed. While awaiting his death in prison, Boethius 
wrote his Consolation of Philosophy, a book which had a 
great influence in the Middle Ages, and is still extant. 

602. Importance of the Work of Theodoric. — When Theod- 
oric died in 526 a. d., he left no capable heir to continue his 
work. Even he had been unable to do away with the racial 
hatred of the Romans for the Goths. In the next thirty 
years his Ostrogothic kingdom went to pieces before the 




si^-i's'^-' v — 



Tomb of Theodoric at Ravenna. 



THE BARBARIANS BREAK INTO THE EMPIRE 473 

Roman reaction led by Justinian, the emperor at Constan- 
tinople. But his life and work are very important, be- 
cause they foreshadow the final union of the German and 
Roman elements of the Western world into a Teutonic- 
Roman culture, upon the basis of which our modern Euro- 
pean and American life is founded. It was the new Frank- 
ish kingdom of Clovis which, after almost 300 years of 
development and struggle, was to bring this about. The 
Franks had one great advantage over the Ostrogoths, whose 
Arian faith formed a religious bar against a thorough under- 
standing with their Catholic neighbors — they had accepted 
at the outset the Athanasian creed, and were therefore in a 
position to meet the old Roman population on a basis of 
religious agreement. 

References for Outside Reading 

Robinson, Readings in European History, vol. I, pp. 29-51; Ogg, 
Source Book of Mediceval History, ch. 1-3; Emerton, Introduction to the 
Middle Ages, pp. 12-57; Robinson, History of Western Europe, pp. 25-33; 
Bemont and Monod, Mediceval Europe, ch. 3, 4; Adams, Civilization 
During the Middle Ages, pp. 65-74; Church, The Beginning of the Middle 
Ages, pp. 14-36; Bradley, The Goths; Kingsley, Roman and Teuton, 
Lectures, 3-5; Church, Beginning of the Middle Ages, Introduction and 
ch. 1; Masterman, The Dawn of Mediaeval Europe, ch. 1-4. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Cesar's Account of the Germans. — Caesar, Gallic Wars, Book 

VI, ch. 21-28; Botsford, Story of Rome, pp. 208-210. 

2. The Marriage of Ataulf. — Bradley, The Goths, ch. 11. 

3. What the Germans Brought to the Empire. — Adams, Civili- 

zation During the Middle Ages, ch. 5. 

4. Gaiseric the Vandal. — Bemont and Monod, pp. 44-46; Encyclo- 

pedias under " Gaiseric." 

5. Saint Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury. — Robinson, 

Readings in European History, Vol. I, pp. 97-100; the Encyclo- 
pedias under "Augustine, Archbishop of Canterbury"; Ogg, 
Source Booh in Mediaeval History, pp. 72-77 '. 

6. The Battle of Hadrianople. — Ogg, Source Book of Mediceval 

History, pp. 37-41. 



CHAPTER \1 111 

nir ATTEMPT rO RE-ESTABLISH rHE OLD KOM \\ 

EMPIRE 

603. General View of thfl Roman Empire in 526 A D. 
The West. A general viev of the Romas Em] 

time of the death of Theodoric shows the following situation: 

In [taly, a 1. filiation of Italians was . :\\ 

comparatively small number of Ostrogoths. In Gaul and 
Spain, the Romanised Celtic population was under the 
domination o various German tribes. The , \ sigoths ruled 
Axjuitaine and most Spain. In the rest 
gundian kingdom in the southeast and the Pranks in the 
north were extending their power. In Africa, the Roman- 
African civilisation lay under the heavj yok \ idals. 
In its religion the greater m of the old population 
Christian of the Aihanasiau creed, which the Franks 
had adopted. The Ostrogoths, Visigoths, and Bu 
dians, however, professed the Avian belief, The nominal 

ndence new Germanic kin 

emperor at Constantinople does not blind us to the fact that 
the unity of the old Roman Empire was destroyed in the 
West; for the attempt of Theodoric to bring about a feeling 
of unity under Germanic control ha/. d. 

604. The Ea>t. During the fifth century, the en 

at Constantinople had maintained their territory \- . 

Minor against the restored power of Persia, They had also 
been much more successful than had the West in resisting 
the growth of the German influence. Hi * thej did by 
recruiting their armi< n the hardy mountain tribes of 

Asia Minor, rather than >* Germans, rhe tide of the 

Germanic invasions turned chiefly toward the West, p 
ably because of the natural strength of the city of Cons 
tinople, whVh was increased by a strong fortifical 

[74 



nil' VTT1CMPT ro ki: l.sr \i;i isii mi' kmi»IRE 475 







about thirty miles to the north of the city, The Long Wall 
stretched from sea to sea, and left (ho great city open to 
attack only by water, Nevertheless the East was dis- 
tinctly on the defensive; nor were the Eastern emperors 
able to hoK! the territory of Thrace against the Goths and 
the ravages of the Slavic barbarians beyond the Danube. 

605. The Rule of Justinian, 5'27 565 A. D. In the year 
527 v. d., a talented ami vigorous ruler, Justinian the [sau- 
rian, came to power over the 
eastern part oi the Roman ;. 
world. Onring the thirty-eight 
\ ears of his reign, he fought vigor- 
ously against the tendency to- ffcl 
ward the breaking up oi the 
Empire. Once more the old 
Greco-Roman culture became 
aggressive, in a last great struggle 
todriveout the German element 
from within its borders, ami to 
revive the former Empire (an- HULU 

bracing all the Mediterranean j,, nMa 

lands. The reign Of Justinian Prom a Mosaio at Ravenna, 

stnmls distinctly for the idea oi 

unity, in territory, in religion, and in law " one state, one 

church, one law." 

60C<. Conquests in the West Africa. Since the end of 
the Roman lineof emperors in 476 a. p.. tift\ years before, the 
Eastern emperors had kept up the vain show oi ruling the 
\\ est. The desire oi Justinian to make the Empire once more 
a unit made it necessary that he establish his power over the 
West, and free the western Romans from German sway. In 

addition, most oi the German tribes were Arian Christians. 
Hence it was natural for Justinian to appear in the West as 
the protector oi the Athanasian Christians against oppres- 
sion and injustice. 

It was in this role, oi defender oi the true faith, that he 
sent his able general, Belisarius, into Africa against the Arian 
Vandals. In one year the great general conquered t ho 



476 



THE STORY OF ROME 



Vandals, led their king into captivity at Constantinople, 
and restored Africa to its old position as a portion of the 
Roman Empire. With this event, the Vandal kingdom dis- 
appears forever from history. 

607. Italy and Spain. — From 534 to 553 a. d., Belisarius, 
and his successor, Narses, waged war upon the Arian Ostro- 
goths in Italy. The overthrow of this Germanic kingdom 
was accomplished after years of difficult fighting. The rem- 
nants of the nation of Theodoric withdrew over the Alps, 
and were blotted out from the pages of history. Italy itself 
became a province of the Eastern Empire, with Narses as its 
governor, having his capital at Ravenna. 

In Spain, as before in Italy, the troops of Justinian ap- 
peared as liberators of the Catholics from religious oppres- 
sion, gaining thereby the hearty support of the great mass 
of Italian and Spanish Romans. The southern portion of 
Spain was wrested from the Visigoths, and added to the 
Empire. Justinian thus gained control of all the lands 

touching the Mediterra- 
nean Sea. Although these 
conquests were but loose- 
ly bound to the central 
government, he took a 
just pride n his work. 

608. Wars in the East. 
— In the East, Justinian 

Bronze Lamp of the Fifth Century. Was 110L SO SUCCeSSIUI in 

It is Made in the Form of a Christian Church beating back the advance 

of the Time - of Persia. It was the 

policy of the powerful monarch of the Persian Empire 
to obtain a foothold in Syria, in order to gain an outlet to 
the Mediterranean Sea. Though he was unsuccessful in 
this, the Persian king won some territory from Justinian, and 
forced him to pay tribute. 

609. Religious Unity. — The passion of Justinian for unity 
had memorable consequences for Christianity. He steadily 
persecuted the followers of any other creed than the ortho- 
dox Catholic, whether they were Germans or Roman sub- 




THE ATTEMPT TO RE-ESTABLISH THE EMPIRE 477 

jects. The heathen religion was still believed in and ob- 
served by many subjects of the Empire in outlying districts. 
Justinian forced them, wherever possible, to adopt Chris- 
tianity. In the year 529 a. d. he closed the doors of the 
pagan universities at Athens, which had developed out of 
the philosophic schools founded by Plato and Aristotle. 
This may be regarded as the final blow given to heathen- 
ism by Christianity. It is another important date in the 
gradual transition which closes the history of the ancient 
pagan world, and introduces the spirit of the Middle Ages. 

610. The Roman Law. — In the field of law, also, Jus- 
tinian's reign sums up and closes the work of the ancient 
world. The Roman body of the law of private rights con- 
sisted of the decision of the praetors in the cases submitted 
to them, increased under the empire by the decisions or 
ordinances formulated from time to time by the emperors. 
There is no question that the Roman theory and system of 
laws form the greatest and most lasting contribution of the 
city and the empire to the world's progress. The Roman 
or civil law is the foundation upon which the codes of most 
of the modern European states stand. The laws of Eng- 
land and the United States have also been greatly influenced 
by its teachings, though not to the same extent as in Europe 
and in South America. 

The work of gathering and ordering the scattered judicial 
decisions in the Roman state had been begun in the second 
century a. d. by Gaius, who lived under Hadrian, and was 
further worked out in the early third century by Papinian 
and Ulpian. In 438 a. d., under Theodosius II, a collection 
had been made of all the decisions given since the time of 
Constantine; but the result was too bulky and not well 
organized, and there were many decisions which were con- 
tradictory. 

611. Unity of Law. — Justinian, in his desire for unity, took 
hold of the problem of putting the body of laws into one 
general system or code, that would be unified and con- 
venient. Accordingly he appointed a commission of jurists, 
headed by Tribonian, whose legal talents rank him among 



478 THE STORY OF ROME 

the great benefactors developed under the Roman Empire. 
The great body of the civil law thus systematized by Jus- 
tinian — the Corpus Juris Civilis (Code of Civil Law) — con- 
sists of four parts : 

1. The Codex -proper, containing the laws of the Senate and 
edicts of the emperors, and decisions in difficult cases which were 
sent to them on appeal. 

2. The Digest. This portion is made up of extracts from the 
books of earlier Roman jurists, giving their opinions or answers 
upon difficult questions of law. They come chiefly from the 
works of Ulpian, Julius Paulus, and Papinian, of the third cen- 
tury. 

3. The Institutions, an elementary text-book of law for 
beginners. 

4. The Novellce ur New Laws, passed in the reign of Justin- 
ian himself, and added to the collection already made. 

The lasting influence of the Corpus Juris may be seen in 
the fact that in Bavaria, a province of the German Empire, 
the Digest served as actual law until the year 1900. The 
older laws of our own state of Louisiana were based on the 
old French law, which was founded on the Roman law. 

612. Life in Constantinople. — The vast schemes of Jus- 
tinian demanded a great deal of money for their fulfillment. 
The burden of taxes aroused the bitter hatred of the Em- 
peror and his wife, Theodora, in the city. The Empress had 
been a poor dancing-girl in her youth. Her beauty and her 
talents charmed the cold and virtuous Emperor, and he 
married her despite the protests of his nearest relatives. 
Whatever her moral life may have been before her 
marriage, she proved a helpful partner to him in his life 
and work. 

The commerce of the Eastern Empire flourished under 
the protection of Justinian. Constantinople, a city esti- 
mated to have had, at that time, about a million inhabitants, 
was the center of the world's trade. The manufacture 
of silk goods was kept as a monopoly in the hands of the 
Emperor himself. The manufacture of weapons and armor, 
of glazed pottery and cheaper clothing, with the retail trade 



THE ATTEMPT TO RE-ESTABLISH THE EMPIRE 479 




in the necessities of life and its luxuries, busied a multitude 
of merchants and laborers. The city lived chiefly upon grain 
imported from Egypt, and dried fish caught in the Black 
Sea and salted in the city. So we must picture its life like 
that of any great city of to-day, its streets filled with 
busy men, its people seeking amusement in the theaters 
or in the Hippodrome. Justinian strove in every way to 
beautify his capital with churches dedicated to the Virgin 
and the saints. The greatest of these, now the Turkish 
mosque of Saint 
Sophia, still 
stands, a magnif- 
icent memorial 
of the day and 
the work of Jus- 
tinian. 

In the chariot 
races in the Hip- 
podrome, the 
people of the city 
were divided into 
the supporters of 
the Blue and of 
the Green. The factions had developed into rival political 
parties, who carried their hatreds to the point of deadly 
brawls in the Hippodrome and in the city streets. At one 
time Justinian was all but overthrown by an uprising of 
the Greens against the Blues, the favorites of the Emperor. 
He was saved only by the courage and spirit of Theodora, 
and the military ability of Belisarius. The uprising was 
quenched in the blood of 30,000 citizens who were caught 
in the Hippodrome, and massacred by the hired soldiers 
under Belisarius. 

613. Later History of the East. — The ambition of Jus- 
tinian to unite the whole of the Roman Empire under his 
hand was a disastrous thing, bringing about a great expend- 
iture of money and men. The emperors who followed him 
wisely reversed the policy, and left the West alone. For 
31 



Old Christian Mosaic in the Mosque Called Saint 
Sophia in Constantinople. 

It Represents Christ Receiving the Adoration of an 
Emperor. 



480 THE STORY OF ROME 

about a century, the Eastern Empire was fairly successful in 
holding its own against the Persians. Then came the Mo- 
hammedan conquests, beginning about 630 a. d., in which 
Syria, Egypt, and a large part of Asia Minor fell to the Mos- 
lem. In the next century, Thrace and Greece were invaded 
by Slavic peoples, who settled there and gradually mingled 
their blood with that of the old population. Constantinople, 
however, held out against the onslaughts of the Oriental 
armies, as the bulwark of Eastern Christianity, until 1453 
a. d.. when it was taken by the Mohammedan Turks. In 
their hands it still remains. 

The importance of the Eastern Empire is that it pre- 
served the old Greco-Roman civilization and some of its 
learning without the immense changes in them which were 
made in the West. It preserved also the idea of the old 
Roman Empire which later became a living ideal of the 
western Frankish kings, and resulted in the establishing of a 
new Western Empire under Cha lemagne, in 800 a. d. 

614. The Lombards in Italy. — Almost immediately after 
the death of Justinian, Spain fell again to the Visigoths; 
and the Lombards, a German tribe then occupying Pannonfa, 
moved into Italy. They conquered the northern part of 
the country, and a portion of the southern. The territory 
about Ravenna, and a strip extending from sea to sea, in- 
cluding Rome, still remained a part of the Eastern Empire. 
The strength of the Lombards increased gradually, and was 
extending itself over all Italy, until the Franks in the eighth 
century came down, as the defenders of the interests of the 
Roman population, and overthrew the Lombard power. 
Under Charlemagne, all Italy was incorporated in his great 
Roman Empire of the Franks. 

615. Summary of Justinian's Work.— Despite the failure 
of his cherished hope of rebuilding the old Roman Empire, the 
work of Justinian was very important. For a last brief space 
of time, he revived the old Roman Empire. He summed 
up and systematized the Roman law, and left it as a 
lasting legacy to future time. His reign saw the last 
spark of the old heathen life die out. Thereafter the 




I Kingdom of the T'ist</o<SsN. 
I Frankiah Kingdom 

| Ostrogothic Kingdom 

| Burgundicm Kinydnn 
~^\ Vandal Kimjdom 
Jtoman Empire 

SCALE OF 



Germanic Kingdoms and the Roman Empire at the 
Accession of Justinian, 526 a. d. 




Germanic Kingdoms and the Roman Empire at the 
Death of Justinian, 565 a. d. 



THE ATTEMPT TO RE-ESTABLISH THE EMPIRE 481 

Germans took up the great he itage of the civilization 
of the Greeks and Romans, changed it as their own 
character demanded, and handed it on, thus changed, 
to our own time. 

References for Outside Reading 

Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages, pp. 56-59; Bemont and 
Monod, Mediaeval Europe, pp. 99-119; Church, Beginning of the Middle 
Ages , pp. 39-44; Encyclopaedia Britannica, article entitled " Justinian"; 
Cunningham, Western Civilization, Vol. I, pp. 196-209; Masterman, 
The Dawn of Mediaeval Europe, ch. 6 and pp. 81-84. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. An Incident in the Hippodrome at Constantinople. — Munro 

and Sellery, Mediaeval Civilization (see table of contents); Gib- 
bon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, in ch. 40 (Bury's 
edition, Vol. IV, pp. 218-226). 

2. The Disgrace and Death of Belisarius. — Gibbon, Decline and 

Fall of the Roman Empire, in ch. 43 (Bury's edition, Vol. IV, 
pp. 428-430). 

3. The Destruction of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in Italy. — ■ 

Kingsley, Roman and Teuton, lecture 6. 

4. Schools and Universities of the Empire in the Fifth 

Century. — Dill, Roman Society in the Last Century of the West- 
em Empire, pp. 333-357. 



CHAPTER XLIV 



THE DEVELOPMENT OF ROM AX-TEUTONIC CIVILIZA- 
TION IN WESTERN EUROPE 

616. The Franks. — In the middle of the fifth century, the 
German tribe appeared which was to unite the Teutonic and 
Greco-Roman civilization in western Europe into one great 
state which was bound together by a single religion, Chris- 
tianity. From the time of Augustus, the tribes of the 
Franks had lived along the east bank of the Rhine River, 
in the territory extending from Moguntiacum (Mayence) 
northward past Colonia Agrippina (Cologne). In the 
troubled years of the third century, these tribes united into 
the confederacy of the Franks. Shortly after 400 a. d., 
Stilicho was forced to withdraw the Roman legions from 
Britain and the Rhine border, to fight against Alaric, the 

Visigoth. This resulted 
in a large migration of 
Franks into Gaul 

617. Clovis, King of 
the Franks, 481-511. — 
In 481 a. d., when Clovis 
of the Merovingian 
house became chief of 
one of the several tribes 
of the Franks which had 
settled in Gaul, there 
were two other German 
tribes ruling portions of 
the Roman-Gallic pop- 
ulation of the country. 
In the southwest were 
the Visigoths; in the southeast, the Burgundians. West of 
the Franks, in northern Gaul, the land was ruled by Syagrius, 
who had established a separate kingdom there after the 

482 




A Frankish House. 

It is Built of Stones and Columns from an Older 
Roman-Gallic Building. 



H( >MAX-TEUTONIC CIVILIZATION 



483 



fall of the Roman rulers of the West, in 476 a. d. In 486, 
Clovis overthrew Syagrius, and annexed all the territory north 
of the Loire River. 

The cruelty and masterful will of Clovis, and the rather 
loose and democratic organization of the German armies, are 
well illustrated by the story of the vase of Soissons. After a 
successful battle, when one of the Christian churches had 
been plundered by the Franks, Clovis promised to return a 
vase of large size and great beauty to the bishop of that 
church. When, in the presence of the army, he demanded 
this vase in addition to his share of the plunder, one of the 
warriors exclaimed that the king could have only that part of 
the booty which the lot assigned to him. He then smashed 
the vase in pieces with his battle-ax. Clovis stood this 
affront, and sent the pieces of the vase to the bishop. About a 
year later, when he was reviewing his troops, he came to this 
warrior and asked to see his battle-ax, then threw it upon 
the ground as if it were not clean, and when the warrior 
stooped to pick it up, Clovis 
struck him dead with his own 
ax, saying: "Thus didst thou 
to the vase of Soissons." 

618. Conversion of Clovis. 
— Though Clovis and his 
Franks were pagans, the 
greater part of the Roman- 
Gallic subjects were Chris- 
tians of the Athanasian or 
orthodox faith. Clovis mar- 
ried a Burgundian princess who was a Catholic Christian, 
and soon after his marriage, when hard pressed in battle, he 
prayed to the God of his wife for help. He promised that 
he would believe in Christ, and be baptized, if the Christian 
God would give him victory. When the battle was won, 
he kept his promise and was baptized, with three thousand 
of his warriors. 

Though this act did not change Clovis or lessen his 
cruelty, it had far-reaching effects. The Frankish king 




Burgundian Clasp for a Girdle, 
of the Sixth Century. 

It Represents Daniel in the Lions' Den. 



484 THE STORY OF ROME 

seemed to the orthodox Christians in Gaul to be their de- 
fender and leader against the German tribes of the Arian 
belief, especially the Visigoths. The Roman-Gallic people 
fought willingly in his armies, and Clovis shrewdly did 
everything to win the support of the clergy. The conver- 
sion of Clovis, therefore, brought about two important re- 
sults: (1) He was able to conquer the Arian rulers of south- 
western Gaul, the Visigoths, and add their territory to his 
Frankish kingdom (507 a. d.); (2) The Merovingian rule 
was changed by Clovis from the leadership of a loosely or- 
ganized tribe of Germans to a strong kingship over three- 
fourths of entire Gaul. To his Gallic subjects, Clovis rep- 
resented the absolute authority of the Roman Empire to 
which they were accustomed. His power over the Germans 
had been checked by the vigorous independence of the 
Franks, who retained some measure of power in their own 
hands ; but the extension of the Frankish territory strength- 
ened the authority of Clovis even over his German subjects. 

619. The Merovingian Line. — Before his death, which oc- 
curred in 511, Clovis had conquered all of Gaul excepting 
Burgundy. His four sons divided his kingdom between 
them. These men were Christians in name, but, like Clovis, 
they did not stop at murder to attain their political ambi- 
tions. In 534 a. d., they conquered Burgundy, and thus 
brought all of Gaul under Frankish dominion. 

The development of the Frankish kingdom was greatly 
hindered by the strange theory of succession to the royal 
power. When Clovis had risen from the position of a bar- 
barian chieftain to that of a powerful king, he had come to 
regard the conquered territory as his own domain, to be 
divided like personal property between his sons. The ex- 
tension of the territory, even further organization, was 
greatly retarded by intrigues and wars, which frequently 
involved brother against brother, and father against son. 
From the death of Clovis to the death of Dagobert, who was 
ruler from 629 to 639 a. d., the power of the Merovingians 
was continually strengthened. They issued edicts in the 
manner of the old Roman emperors. The privileges which 



ROMAN-TEUTONIC CIVILIZATION 



485 




Coin of Dagobert. 

It Shows the Head of the King with the Cross 
above it, and reads: "Dagobertu.s Rex." 



the free warriors had had in the old German assembly were 
assumed by a body of rich nobles which grew up around the 
king. 

620. Growth of the Power of the Frankish Nobles. — 
Whenever the kingdom was divided among several brothers, 
each ruler had his 

own court and his 
own nobles, who be- 
came wealthy and 
powerful. After Dag- 
obert 's death, the 
Merovingian house 
produced no great 
men. The kings fell 
under the power of 
the nobles in the 
court, especially 

under an official called the major domus, or mayor of the palace. 
This officer was originally the director of the palace. Under 
the " Do-Nothing " kings of the century after Dagobert, 
the mayors of the palace in the respective courts were the 
real rulers. They led the Frankish armies and fought with 
one another for supremacy as if they themselves were the 
kings. In 681 a. d., Pippin, mayor of the palace of Australia, 
which was the northeastern section of the Frankish domain, 
made himself mayor of all the united Frankish kingdom. 

621. Charles Martel (The Hammer), 714-741 A. D— Pip- 
pin's power was equaled by that of his son, Charles Martel, 
who inherited his father's position as mayor of the palace. 
Although Charles Martel himself did not take the royal 
title, he is the real founder of the new line of rulers called 
the Carolingians. 1 During the last eleven years of his life 
his sway was unquestioned, as there was no king of the 
Merovingian house upon the throne. 

Charles Martel proved himself a great leader. In 732 a. d. ? 
at the battle of Tours, he defeated the forces of the Moham- 



1 This name is taken from Carolus, the Latin form of Charles. 



486 



THE STORY OF ROME 



medans, who had already conquered Spain, and were at- 
tempting to extend their religion and their domain over west- 
ern Europe. He conquered the German tribes across the 
Rhine, and tried to Christianize them and bring them under 

Frankish dominion. His 
son, Pippin the Short, 
who succeeded to the 
office of mayor of the 
palace, deposed the Mer- 
ovingian for whom he 
ruled, and assumed the 
title of King of the 
Franks, in the year 751 

A. D. 

622. The Power of the 
Bishop of Rome. — The 

supremacy which the 

Roman church claimed 

the Christian world 




10U 200 300 



111 



Fraxkish Kingdom at the Death of Dago 
bert. 



rested primarily upon 
the great tradition and 
importance of Rome itself and the belief that the Apostle Peter 
had established the church at Rome. It was greatly strength- 
ened by the influence of the successive bishops of Rome, who 
had shown especial ability during the great church meetings of 
the fourth century. While the ideas of the church were 
still forming, these bishops had consistently followed the 
orthodox views and fought Arianism. This consistent policy 
gave them an influence which was emphasized by the weak- 
ness of the emperors in the West; for the incapacity of the 
emperors gave the Roman bishops many opportunities of 
making themselves useful in politics, even. to the extent of 
treating with the barbarians who came into Italy. 

In 452 a. d., when Attila the Hun led his hordes into Italy, 
Leo the Great, who was then Bishop of Rome, headed the 
embassy which treated with him, and kept him from attacking 
the city itself. Three years later the Vandals from Africa 
swooped down upon the city. Again, the Bishop Leo was 



ROMAN-TEUTONIC CIVILIZATION 



487 



the man sent to gain terms from their leader. This Leo 
was one of the earliest bishops to insist strongly upon the 
supremacy of the church of Rome, and the power of its bishop 
over all other churches. The emperors favored this claim, 
because it was to the interest of the Empire that the church 
should be unified under one head. About this time the title 
of Pope became the distinctive name for the Bishop of 
Rome. 1 

623. Gregory the Great. — After Leo, Gregory the Great 
(590-604 a. d.) was the next Pope who saw the great oppor- 




Extent of Christianity under Pope Gregory the Great, 590-604 a. d. 

tunity of the church at Rome, and, more than any other, 
made it the center of Christian unity and authority in the 
West. He put in order the property which had gradually 
accumulated under the bishops of Rome, and organized the 
work of carrying Christianity to the barbarians in Germany 
and England. The missionary work which was diligently 

1 The word comes from the Latin "Papa" meaning "venerable 
father." 



488 THE STORY OF ROME 

pursued under his guidance widened the circle of the new civ- 
ilization, made up of Roman, Christian, and Teutonic ele- 
ments, until it included England, and a large part of Ger- 
many, as well as the western part of the old Roman Empire. 

624. The Germanic Conquest of England. — After Britain 
had been made a province under the Emperor Claudius 
(,43 b. a), the Celts who lived there slowly joined with their 
Roman conquerors, and adopted Roman ideas. In the 
fourth century, Christianity came into Britain through the 
Roman army, and spread from there into Scotland and Ire- 
land. When Stilicho was compelled to remove the Roman 
garrison, Britain lost the protection of the empire; and in 
449 a. d., a series of invasions began which brought into 
Britain the Germanic barbarians of northern Europe, tribes 
of Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They overran the country, 
conquered the Britons, and drove them into the western 
part of the country, and northward into Scotland. It is 
from the Angles that England gets its present name. 

The invaders were pagans who knew nothing of Chris- 
tianity. Therefore Christianity survived only in Ireland, 
and outlying districts of what we may now call England. 
With the passing of Christianity, the culture which it typi- 
fied also receded, and England was sinking to the level of 
the civilization of its barbarian conquerors. 

625. Conversion of England. — The following story is told 
to explain how Pope Gregory's attention was called to the 
need of missionary work in England. One day as he was 
walking in the forum at Rome, he saw some light-haired, 
white-skinned boys offered for sale as slaves. To his in- 
quiry the slave-dealer responded that these were pagans. 
" Alas," said Gregory, " that beings with such bright faces 
should be slaves of the prince of darkness ! What is 
the name of their nation?'' "Angles." "Good! They 
have faces of angels and should be the co-heirs with the 
angels of heaven. From what province do they come " 
" Deira." (Deira was a portion of England, and the two 
Latin words, "de ira." mean "from the wrath.") ''Deira! 
Yea, verily, they shall be saved from God's wrath and called 



ROMAN-TKITOXIC CIVILIZATION 



489 



to the mercy of Christ. How call you the king of that 
land " "iElla," " Then must Alleluia be sung in .Ella's 
land.' 

When Gregory became Pope he remembered this incident. 
In 596 a. D , he sent out St. Augustine, a monk of tall and 
commanding figure, with forty others, to convert the Eng- 
lish heathen. By their missionary work England was again 
brought under the influence of Roman civilization; but the 
power which brought it about was spiritual rather than 
political, Christianity represented by the Pope at Rome, 
rather than the laws and legions of the Roman emperor. 

626. Spread of Roman- Christian Civilization in Germany. 
— The Merovingian kings had made it a part of their policy 




Bridge Over the Moselle River at Treves. 
The Stone Supports Are Those of the Old Roman Bridge. 



to spread the Christian faith in the territory which they 
conquered east of the Rhine. About 600 a. d., some Irish 
monks began to work with the heathen Germans along the 
upper Rhine and the upper Danube. They established 
monasteries which became centers of civilization as well as 
o.' the missionary work; for these monks taught the pagans 
to cultivate the soil and to live at peace, while they were 
inculcating in them the teachings of Christ. 

In 719 a. d., an English monk, St. Boniface, took up the 
missionary work in Germany with great success. In the 



490 THE STORY OF ROME 

year 722 he was given a letter of recommendation to Charles 
Martel from the Pope. Thus the connection of the Frank- 
ish monarchs and the papacy was drawn closer by the mis- 
sionaries in Germany, because the rulers of the Franks recog- 
nized that their work of subjugating the Germans would 
be futile, were the heathen not made Christians. The 
church, for its part, realized that it could not work effect- 
ively unless it had the military support of the Frankish 
armies. Accordingly, St. Boniface founded monasteries and 
nunneries, from which the heathen learned at least a little 
about Christian morality, while their Avives learned those 
household arts which are powerful in raising th? standard 
of any people. Boniface was a devoted believer in the idea 
of the headship of the church of Rome, therefore all the new 
acquisitions gave additional strength to the idea of the unity 
of the church in the West, and widened the field of the 
Pope's influence. 

References for Outside Reading 

Ogg, Source Book of Mediceval History, ch. 4-6; Robinson, Readings 
in European History, Vol. I, ch. 4-5; Emerton, Introduction to the 
Middle Ages, ch. 7, 8, 9, 11; Robinson, History of Western Europe, pp. 
34-66; Bemont and Monod, Mediceval Europe, ch. 5, 6, 7, 9; Adams, 
Civilization During the Middle Ages, pp. 107-151; Kingsley, Roman and 
Teuton, lectures 8-9; Church, Beginning of the Middle Ages, ch. 3-4; 
Masterman, The Dawn of Mediceval Europe, ch. 5, 7, 9. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Gregory the Great and the Monk Justus. — Robinson, Read- 

ings, pp. 76-77. 

2. The Founding of the Monastery at Fulda. — Robinson, 

Readings, pp. 107-111; Kingsley, Roman and Teuton, pp. 221-237. 

3. The Economic Influence of the Monasteries. — Munro and 

Sellery, Mediceval Civilization (see table of contents), or Cunning- 
ham, Western Civilization in its Economic Aspects, Vol. II, pp. 
35-40. 

4. The Rule of St. Benedict. — Ogg, Source Book of Mediceval 

History, pp. 83-90. 

5. The Work of the Church in the West. — Kingsley, Roman 

and Teuton, lecture 8; Hutton, The Church and the Barbarians, 
ch. 4, 10. 



CHAPTER XLV 

THE SPREAD OF MOHAMMEDANISM IN THE EAST— THE 
PAPACY AND THE CAROLINGIANS RULE THE WEST 

627. The Change in the East. — During the years from 400 
to 800 a. d., the western part of the old Roman Empire was 
undergoing changes, brought about by the Teutonic inva- 
sion and the growth of the church, which ended in the found- 
ing of the nations and the development of the civilization of 
modern Europe. In the period extending from 600 to 750 
a. d., a new religion arose in Arabia and spread over western 
Asia, northern Africa, and across Gibraltar into Spain. It 
changed the character of the civilization of these portions of 
the Roman empire to such a degree, that its advent 
marks a new period in the history of the eastern 
Mediterranean. This was the religion of the Arabian 
Mohammed. Its slogan was Islam, "obedience to 
God." Its missionary work was done with the sword. 
Just as the Teutonic invasion had destroyed the 
unity of Roman civilization in western Europe, so 
the Mohammedan civilization changed the intellectual 
life of western Asia and northern Africa, and intro- 
duced a new religion which wrested these countries 
away from the Roman-Christian world. The struggle 
thus begun still continues, for to-day the Christian 
civilization of Europe and the Mohammedan civiliza- 
tion of western Asia are struggling for the possession 
of Africa. an 

628. The Arabians before Mohammed.— The desert ^ R w ™ 
of Arabia was filled with independent tribes of nomads, 

who prided themselves upon three things: boldness of heart, 
their sharp and gleaming swords, and their bronze bows, whose 
arrows, to quote the Arabian phrase, cut the air with a cry 
" like that of a grieving mother who wails for the death of a 

491 



492 THE STORY OF ROME 



son." Although the Arabians were in close contact with 
Jews and Christians, they still remained in a primitive state 
of religious development, worshipping stones and other fe- 
tishes, the stars, and the spirits of their ancestors. They had 
a number of gods, each of them called II, and one highest 
god called Allah. 

629. Life of Mohammed — Born about 570 A. D. — Even 
before Mohammed, the founder of the new creed, had re- 
ceived the inspiration which made of him a great religious 
teacher, a movement had begun among the best of the 
Arabians against the polytheism of their people. Mo- 
hammed, who had been a shepherd and camel-driver, mar- 
ried a wealthy widow named Khadija and became an impor- 
tant man in Mecca. He was subject to peculiar attacks in 
which he saw visions and heard voices. One of his later 
wives has described these attacks in the following words: 
" The prophet was heavy in spirit, when the angel appeared 
to him. No matter how cold it was, the sweat poured from 
his forehead, his eyes became red, and sometimes he roared 
like a camel.' ' 

When he was forty years old, he thought that the angel 
Gabriel appeared to him in the solitude of the mountains, 
and bade him teach the true religion of Allah. First his 
wife, then a few other relatives, were converted to the belief 
that he was a prophet of God, chosen to lead the people to 
the right faith. In four years he gathered about him forty 
believers; then he started to preach openly. Slowly he 
gathered converts from the Arabians who came on pilgrim- 
age to Mecca. Gradually he aroused the fear and hatred 
of the old priests of Mecca, until, in 622 a. d., he was com- 
pelled to flee to Medina. This flight is called the Hegira, 
the Arabian word meaning " departure." From this year, 
the two hundred million Mohammedan believers of the 
present day reckon time, just as Christians do from the 
birth of Christ. 

After the Hegira, the number of the faithful grew rapidly. 
Mohammed determined to make his conversions by the 
sword if necessary, and declared war upon his enemies. In 



MOHAMMEDANISM AND ITS SPREAD 493 

630 a. d., Mecca fell before the onslaughts of the believers; 

but this was not enough; Mohammed determined to win the 

• whole world to his faith by conquering it. Before he could 

enter upon these greater schemes, he died, in the year 632 

A. D. 

630. The Mohammedan Religion, — Mohammed was with- 
out doubt one of the great religious teachers of the world's 
history. His belief is a monotheistic one, built upon the 
Jewish and Christian religions. There is but one God, 
Allah, who reveals himself to men through prophets. The 
great prophets have been Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, 
Jesus ; and the greatest of all, Mohammed. It is clear that 
Mohammed denied the divinity of Christ. He taught that 
the soul is immortal, and that the Moslem, that is, the be- 
lievers in his faith, would enjoy the delights of paradise, while 
the wicked and the unbelievers would suffer the torments in 
hell. 

The God of the Mohammedans is not the loving father of 
Christianity, but a dark power to whom the Moslem offer 
prayer as a task to be performed. The sacred book of the 
Moslem is the Koran. In it are the sayings of Mohammed, 
which were written down after his death by his followers, 
embodying laws to govern all sides of the lives of the be- 
lievers, their moral, religious, and business lives. As the 
Bible is the source of the spiritual life of the Christian por- 
tions of the world of to-day, so the Koran sets the moral 
standards of the Mohammedans. 

631. Influence of Mohammed. — Mohammed has been a 
great force for good in the world. He knew his people, knew 
just how far he could lead them upward. He raised them 
from a belief in many gods to belief in one God, gave them a 
religion and a moral code higher than they had had, and laid 
the foundations upon which, in the next two centuries, a great 
Moslem empire was founded. The Moslem civilization was 
for centuries the highest in the world; but the rigidity of 
Mohammed's teaching has made it impossible for the religion 
to advance. Christianity has shown itself infinitely more 
adaptable to new conditions. A comparison of the Moham- 



494 



THE STORY OF ROME 



medan and Christian civilization of our time leaves no 
doubt of the higher morality and power of the Christian 
faith. 

632. The Mohammedan Conquests, 632-732 A. D. — Mo- 
hammed taught that it was God's command that the be- 
lievers should carry on war to spread the faith. His glowing 
account of the pleasures of paradise, which awaited the war- 
riors who died upon the field of battle, excited the fighting 
spirit of his followers to the highest pitch. Within ten years 
after the prophet's death, Syria, Persia, and Egypt had 
fallen subject to the Moslem leaders. A second period of 
expansion, beginning 695 a. d., carried the Moslem power 
along the coast of northern Africa and across into Spain. 
Here the Yisigothic kingdom fell an easy prey to the Mo- 
hammedan attacks. For eight hundred years, until Colum- 
bus' time, the Moslem 
maintained themselves as 
the rulers of Spain, and 
made its life for several 
centuries the most brilliant 
and intellectual of Europe. 
After the conquest of 
Spain had been secured, 
tfce Moslem crossed the 
Pyrenees into Gaul, de- 
feating the armies of the 
Frankish rulers in several battles. It seemed that the 
Christian and Teutonic kingdom arising in western Europe 
would, like the Visigothic kingdom of Spain, fall before the 
seimitars of the followers of Mohammed. For good or ill 
this would have changed the history of Europe; but their 
great array was met in 732 a. d., just one hundred years 
after Mohammed's death, by all the forces which the Franks 
could levy. In the battle of Tours, Charles Martel won 
the name of Martel, "The Hammer/' and defeated the Mo- 
hammedans so badly that they were forced to withdraw into 
Spain. A Christian chronicler had thus described the battle : 
"At last they set themselves in battle array; and the nations 




Mohammedan Gold Coin from Spain. 

It reads: "Mohammed is the One Sent of 
Allah," and on the margin: "This Coin is 
Struck in El-Andalua in the Year 98" (after 
the Hegira). 



THE CAROLINGIANS AND THE PAPACY 495 

of the North, standing firm as a wall and as impenetrable as a 
zone of ice, slew the Arabs with their swords." The battle 
of Tours may justly be called one of the decisive engage- 
ments of history. 

633. The Carolingian Alliance with the Papacy. — In this 
battle, Charles Martel appeared as a great leader in the 
defense of Christian culture in the West. Events which 
followed made this position of the Carolingian rulers more 
prominent, and led to a relation between the Frankish 
kingdom and the Papacy at Rome which was almost an 
alliance. While the Carolingians had been working toward 
the actual rule of the Franks through their position as 
mayors of the palace, the popes were being hard pressed 
by the Lombards of northern Italy. Pope Gregory III 
had offered to bestow upon Charles Martel authority to 
rule the West, if Charles would protect him against the 
Lombards. This offer, however, was refused. 

When Pippin thought that the time had come to make 
himself king of the Franks, he needed some great authority 
to sanction him in usurping the royal power. He therefore 
accepted the alliance with the Papacy. In 751 a. d., at 
Soissons, the Frankish nobles swore allegiance to him, and 
Archbishop Boniface, representing the church, anointed 
him as king. In return for this service of the church, 
Pippin marched into Italy, and defeated the Lombards 
who were besieging Rome. He took from them a great 
strip of land extending across Italy north and south of 
Rome, and bestowed it upon the Pope as territory belonging 
. to the church, to be ruled by the Pope himself. Thus the 
Pope became an actual ruler over the lives and property 
of men. This is called the temporal power of the Papacy, to 
distinguish it from the spiritual authority which the Popes 
held as religious leaders of the West. 

634. Rule of Charlemagne, 768-814 A. D. — Charles the 
Great (Charlemagne), who succeeded his father, Pippin, 
as king of the Franks, stands out prominently as a con- 
structive statesman of the type of Augustus Caesar; for he 
established a new empire out of the Germanic and Roman 

32 



496 



THE STORY OF ROME 




materials in western Europe. In 773 a. d., he assumed 
the iron crown of the Lombards, adding northern Italy 
to the Frankish realm. He followed the policy of his 
Carolingian ancestors by allying himself closely with the 
papacy. This alliance he made clear by renewing the grant 

of territory in Italy which had been 
previously presented to the Pope by 
Pippin. 

635. The Conquest of Saxony, 772- 
804 A. D. — In a long series of wars, 
5 Charlemagne conquered the Saxons 
and Bavarians, and joined a large 
tract of territory in Germany to the 
Christian state of the Franks. This 
event carried to completion a plan of 
the Carolingians which had existed 
since the time of Charles Martel. Just 
as his ancestors had done, Charlemagne 
saw that these barbarians could only 
be held permanently by making them 
Christians. His method of conver- 
sion, however, was more like that of 
the Mohammedans than that of the 
early missionaries to Germany. For, after conquering the 
heathen Saxons, Charlemagne passed laws by which those 
who refused to accept Christianity should be punished with 
death. Though his methods were harsh, they were emi- 
nently successful, and Saxon Germany soon became a civi- 
lized portion of Christendom. 

636. Charlemagne as Founder of the New Roman Empire. 
— In the year 800 a. d., Charlemagne was in Rome during 
the Christmas festivities. Upon Christmas Day as he was 
kneeling in prayer in the church of St. Peter, the Pope 
crowned him with a golden crown, and the people proclaimed 
him Emperor. 

In this way the Roman Empire was restored in western 
Europe; but the Empire of Charlemagne was very unlike 
that of Augustus. The differences lay: 



Charlemagne. 

From a Mosaic in Rome 
Mads in Charlemagne's Time. 
The letters read: "To our 
Lord, Carl, the King." 



THE CAROLINGIANS AND THE PAPACY 



497 



1. in the extent of territory involved. The Empire of Charle- 
magne included the northern part of Italy, all of France, part of 
northern Spain, and the western portion of modern Germany 
and Austria, about that part which would be marked off by a 
line drawn from the mouth of the Oder River directly south to 




^Christian Territory 1 J* ^^m' O FT A 

M rtltn rytmorlnn Tjvri+ni'il 



\ Mohammedan Territory 

SCALE OF MILES 
L 

200 400 600 800/ 
0° 10" 



Extent op Christianity and Mohammedanism at the Death of Charle- 
magne, 814 A. D. 



the Adriatic Sea. This was but a small section of the old Roman 
Empire. 

2. In the character of the ruling element. The rulers of the 
Roman Empire had been men of southern stock, from Italy, 
Spain, Illyria, and Africa, lands bordering directly upon the 
Mediterranean Sea. The Carolingian rulers and their high 
officials were Germans. 

3. In the subject population. The territory east of the Rhine 
was entirely occupied by Germans, and the other parts of the 
new empire had received a large infusion of German blood. 

4. In the entire civilization. The culture of the Roman Em- 
pire had been essentially Greek, but accommodated in the West 
to Roman and western traditions. This culture was now 



498 THE STORY OF ROME 

imbued with the ideas and character of the Teutonic people, 
with what may be called the German spirit. 

SUMMARY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION 

637. Territorial Development. — It has been our endeavor 
to trace the story of man's development from the time of 
the earliest written records which are found in Egypt and 
Babylon, through fully four thousand years of history, to 
the point where modern civilization begins to unfold itself. 
It is a long vista of centuries, beginning with the figure 
of Menes, King of Upper and Low r er Egypt, and ending 
with Charlemagne. The progress of this civilization was 
slowly westward along the Mediterranean shore, over 
Europe, with an occasional ebb toward the east, such as 
resulted from Alexander's conquest of western Asia. Its 
progress w T as also slowly northward. In this movement, 
too, there was many an ebb tide, such as occurred when 
the barbarian tribes of the Hellenes broke into the circle 
of the Mediterranean civilization, and lowered the standard 
of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture. Such, too, was the set- 
back given to the Greco-Roman civilization by the invasions 
of the Germans. In all these cases the net result was good, 
because the civilized area of the world was thereby increased. 

638. Religious Development. — From the crude poly- 
theistic religion of Egypt and Babylon, the world advanced 
through the thoughts of the Greek philosophers, the religious 
genius of the Hebrew nation, and the teaching of Christ, to 
the Christian and Mohammedan monotheistic worship. 
These two beliefs shape the religious and moral life of 
several hundred millions of people to-day. 

639. Advance in Scientific Thought. — The Egyptians 
knew how to measure time by the solar year of 365 days. 
A better adjustment was made by Julius Caesar, who es- 
tablished the leap year of 366 days falling every four years. 
This calendar, still used in Greece and Russia, varies only 
thirteen days from the corrected calendar, which is used 
everywhere in America and in the greater part of Europe. 



THE CAROLINGIANS AND THE PAPACY 499 

The mechanical skill developed by the Egyptians was 
handed down to the Greek scientists, and perfected by them. 
Very little advance was made over the work of the Greeks 
until early in the nineteenth century. Methods of travel 
both by land and sea remained about the same, both in re- 
gard to speed and to the vessels used for transportation, 
until the invention of machinery driven by steam. 

The sciences, including medicine, physics, geography, 
and the like, flourished best in the period of ancient civiliza- 
tion under the Greek Aristotle and his followers. Thereafter 
scientific study declined rather- than advanced. It is in 
these scientific branches of knowledge, and in mechanical 
devices, that the modern far surpasses the ancient world. 

640. Advance in the Arts. — Of all the ancient nations, the 
Greeks showed the highest ability in painting, music, 
sculpture, architecture, and literature. The decline in 
these forms of human expression began about 200 a. d. 
Artistic work in these lines in the time of Charles Martel 
can in no way be compared with the noble products of the 
old Greek painters, sculptors, architects, and writers. The 
genius of the Hellenes has not been greatly surpassed in 
modern times in any form of artistic expression, except 
in music. 

641. Ancient Civilization Summed up in the Roman Em- 
pire. — The change in the methods of government which 
occurred in ancient times, beginning with the city-states 
of the Nile Valley, Babylonia, and Greece, and advancing 
to the idea embodied in the Roman Empire, was a very 
great one. Upon the basis of the united Greek states and the 
world-empire of Persia, Alexander the Great built his 
short-lived empire. Out of this rose the world-empire 
ruled from Rome, which brought within its domain all the 
countries of western Europe except Germany. 

642. The Fate of the Roman Empire. — In this great 
Roman Empire, ancient civilization reached its completed 
form. Here the world's inheritance from the ancient na- 
tions took definite and unified shape, in what we have called 
the Greco-Roman civilization. By the time of Charle- 



500 THE STORY OF ROME 

magne this empire had split into three sections, each with 
a different type of culture: 

1. The Balkan peninsula, Thrace, and Asia Minor, formed the 
Eastern Empire, also called the Byzantine Empire, with its 
capital at Constantinople. Here the Greek culture was retained 
in form and language, at least, but without the spirit of progress. 

2. Western Asia as far as India. Egypt, northern Africa, and 
Spain, formed the Mohammedan Empire. The changes made 
in these regions by the spread of Mohammed's faith were great. 

3. The new empire of Charlemagne. Through this channel 
the modern world of Europe ami America has received its great 
social inheritance from the ancient nation-. 

References for Outside Reading 

Ogg, Source Book of Mediaeval History, pp. 97-132, 130-134; Robinson, 
Readings in European History, Vol. I, ch. 0-7; Robinson, History of 
Western Europe, ch. 6-7; Emerton, Introduction to the Middle Ages, pp. 
122-134, 162-213; Bemont and Monod, Mediaeval Europ>\ ch. 10-12; 
Adams, Civilization of the Middle Ayes, pp. 150-169; Thatcher and 
Schwill, Europe in the Middle Ages, pp. 110-139; Church, Beginning of 
the Middle Ages, ch. 7; Kingsley, Roman and Teuton, ch. 11; Master- 
man, The Dawn of Mediaeval Europe, ch. 8, 10-18. 

Topics for Oral or Written Report 

1. Treatment of the "Do-Nothing Kings". — Robinson, Readings, 

pp. 120-121. 

2. Conquest of the Saxoxs and Their Treatment by Charle- 

magne. — Ogg, Source Book of Mediaeval History, pp. 114-123. 

3. Appearance and Character of Charlemagne. — Robinson, 

Readings, Vol. I, pp. 126-12S; Ogg, Source Book of Mediaeval 
History, pp. 108-114. 

4. A Modern Statesman's Estimate of Ancient Civilization. — 

See Theodore Roosevelt's article on "The World Movement," 
in The Outlook, May 14, 1910. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS AND LIST OF EVENTS 
AND DATES. 

The following system is suggested for remembering related 
events in place of the old method of learning outright a series of 
unconnected dates. The central and most important dates are 
printed in heavy type. 

I. 3400-333 B.C. ORIENTAL CIVILIZATION. 

1. 3400-2100 b. c. Old Kingdom of Egypt. — Babylonia. 

Egypt. 

About 3400 b. c. Menes. United kingdom of Egypt. 
About 2900 b. c. Snefru. Foreign trade. 

Babylonia. 

About 2800 b. c. Empire of Sargon. 
About 1950 b. c. Hammurabi. Law Code. 

Cretan Civilization. 

3000-2000 b. c. Rise of civilization in Crete. 

2. 2100—1600 b. c. Middle Kingdom of Egypt. — Cretan 

Power. 
Cretan. 

About 2000-1500 b. c. Height of Cretan power. Expansion 
northward into Greece. Mycenae. 

Egypt. 

2100-1800 b. c. Middle kingdom of Egypt, Thebes. Trade 

with Cretans. 
About 1800-1600 b. c. Hyksos rule in Egypt. 

3. 1600—1100 b.c. Egyptian Empire. — Cretans. — Hittites. 

501 



502 HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 

Egypt. 

1500-1450 B. C. Thothmes III. Conquest of Syria. 

1375 b. c. Ikhnaton. Monotheistic worship of Aton. 
1292 b. c. Rameses II. Syria reconquered. Wars with the 
Hittites. 

Babylonia. 

1600-1100 b. c. Rise of Assyrian power. 

Cretans. 

1600-1400 b. c. Great trade with Egypt. 
1400-1100 b. c. Decay of Cretan power. Advance of the 
Hellenes. 

Hittites 

About 2000-1400 b. c. Rise of their power. 

1400-1100. Height of their power. Treaty between Khetasar 

and Rameses II. 
About 1 100 B. C. Decline of Egyptian, Cretan, Babylonian, 

and Hittite Power. 

4. 1100—606 b. c. Phoenicians, Hebrews, Assyrians, 

Hellenes. 
Phoenicia. 

About 1100 b. c. Commercial development of Phoenician 
cities. 

Hebrews. 

1000-930 b. c. ' United Kingdom of Hebrews. Saul, David, 

Solomon. 
621 B. C. Hebrew Religious Reformation. Josiah. 

Assyria. 

728 b. c. Tiglath Pileser, King of Babylon. 

728-606 b. c. Assyrian Empire. 

606 B. C. Fall of Nineveh and the Assyrian Power. 

Hellenes (Greeks). 

About 1000 b. c. Expansion over iEgean and coast of Asia 

Minor. 
800-550 b. c. Colonization of Mediterranean. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 503 

5. 606-333 b. c. The Persian Empire. 

600 b. c. Four Kingdoms: Babylonian, Median, Egyptian, 

Lydian. 
546 b. c. Cyrus the Great conquers Lydia (Crcesus). 
539 b. c. Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon. 
525 B. C. Cambyses conquers Egypt. All the old Oriental 

nations absorbed in the Persian Empire. 

Persia and Greece. 

490 b. c. Darius invades Greece. Marathon. 
480 b. c. Xerxes invades Greece. Defeat of Persians at Salamis. 
400 b. c. March of the 10,000 Greeks through Persian Empire. 
333 B. C. Battle of Issus. Alexander begins conquest of Persian 

Empire. Oriental civilization of Persia and new Hellenic 

civilization begin to fuse. 

II. 1100-146 B.C. HELLENIC (GREEK) CIVILIZATION. 
1. 1100-490 b. c. Early Development of the Hellenes. 

About 1100 b. c. Expansion over iEgean Sea and to coast of Asia 

Minor. 
About 1000-700 b. c. Homeric poems arise. 
About 800-550 b. c. Colonization around Black Sea and Western 

Mediterranean. 

Athenian Democracy and Sparta's Power. 

594 B. C. Solon's legislation establishes democracy. 

About 550 b c \ T y mnn y of pisistratus - 

( Sparta at head of Peloponnesian League. 

508 b. c. Clisthenes reorganizes Athenian state. 

Ionian Civilization. 

About 600 b. c. Ionian poetry. Sappho, Alcaeus. 

About 600-500 b. c. Ionian philosophy. Thales, Heraclitus. 

2. 490-480 b. c. Persian Attack Upon Greece. 

494 b. c. Miletus destroyed in revolt from Persia. 
490 b. c. Battle of Marathon. 



504 HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 

About 485 b, c. Themistocles. Development of democracy, 

Athenian navy. 
480 B. C. Battle of Salamis. Battle of Himera. 

3. 480-40-4 b. c. Period of Athenian Greatness. 

Delian League. 

478-454 b. c. Development of Delian League into Athenian 
Empire. 

454 B. C. Removal of treasury from Delos to Athens. 

Peridean Age. 

460-431 B. C. Leadership of Pericles. Completion of the 

democracy. Building oi the Parthenon. Greek drama. 

Phidias, 

Peloponnesian War. 431-404 b. c. 

131-404 b. c. Sophistic teachings. 

415-413 b. c. Sicilian expedition. Alcibiades. 

404 B. C. Athens taken by Spartans. Power of Athens broken. 

4. 404-300 b. c. The Greeks Begin the Aggressive Movement 

Against Persia. Struggle for Leadership in Greece. 

404-371 b. c. Leadership of Sparta. 
400 b. c. March oi the Ten Thousand Greeks. 
399 b. c. Death of Socrates. 

400-3S7 b. c, Spartans carry war against Persia into Asia Minor. 
398-367 b. c. Empire of Dionysius oi Syracuse. 
387 B. C. Peace of Antalcidas. 
^ ^ \ Peace Congress at Sparta. 

' \ Battle of Leuctra. Spartan leadership ended. 
371-362 b. e. Leadership oi Thebes. Epaminondas. 
362 B. C. Battle of Mantinea. laid oi Theban Leadership. 

5. 360 333 b. e. Union ok rue Greeks anp Conquest of 

Persi \. 

359-336. Development of Macedon under Philip. Opposition 

led by Demosthenes of Athens. 
338 b, c. Battle of Chaeronea. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 505 

337 B. C. Congress at the Isthmus. Greeks united under 
Philip. Preparation for the war against Persia. 

33ti b. c. Accession of Alexander. 

333 B. C. Battle of Issus. Alexander as successor to the 
Persian kings. 

6. 333-200 b. c. Spread of Greek Civilization. 
The East. 

333 _ 3 2 3 B. C. Conquests of Alexander. 
331 b. c. Battle of Arbela. 
323 b. c. Death of Alexander. 
About 323-200 b. c. Spread of Greek civilization over old Oriental 

nations. 
301 B. C. Battle of Ipsus. Greek kingdoms of Syria, Egypt 

and Macedon established. 

Affairs in Greece. 

280-146 b. c. Power of the Achaean and /Etolian Leagues. 

23") b. c. Power of Sparta revived by Cleomenes. 

222 b. c. Hat tie o( Sellasia. Power of Sparta ended. 

7. 2S0-146 b. c. Adoption of Greek Civilization by Rome. 
Greece Becomes a Part of the Roman Empire. 

280-275 b. c. Italy. Pyrrhus leads the Greeks of the West 

against Rome. 
275 b. c. Battle of Beneventum. 
272 B. C. Tarentum captured by Rome. All Italy, including 

the Greek cities, subject to Rome. 
About 272-16S b. c. Greek culture becoming dominant over 

Italian and Roman culture. 

Rome's Advance upon Greece. 

200-197 b. c. Rome's war with Philip V of Macedon. 

107 b. c. Battle of Cynoscephahe. 

10t) b. c. Freedom of the Greek states proclaimed by Flammius. 

100 b. c. Battle of Magnesia. Antiochus III of Syria defeated by 

Home. 
168 b. c. Perseus of Macedon conquered by Rome. 
146 B. C. Macedon and Greece form a Roman province. 

End of the independence of the Greek states of Europe. 



506 HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 

III. 753 (?)-44 b. c. THE ROMAN REPUBLIC. ROME 
BUILDS A WORLD EMPIRE. 

(For the Greek Colonization of the West see Section II, Part 1.) 

1. 753 (?)-272 b. c. Beginnings of Rome. Conquest of Italy. 

753 B. C. Traditional date of founding of Rome. 

These "traditional" dates are those which are found in the 
ancient annals and histories, compiled centuries after the events 
occurred. Although they are utterly uncertain the modern historian 
makes use of them because he can do no better. 
510 B. C. Traditional date of founding of the Republic. 

Plebeian Struggle for Political Rights. 

494 or 493 b. c. Traditional date for establishing of the tribunate. 
About 450 b. c. The laws of the Twelve Tables. 
367 b. c. Traditional date of the Licinian-Sextian Laws. 
About 367-300 b. c. The plebeians gain right to the magistracies. 
287 B. C. The Hortensian Law. The tribal assembly may 
pass laws unhampered. 

Conquest of Italy. 

493 b. c. Traditional date of the establishment of the Latin 

League. 
474 B. C. Etruscan power weakened by defeat off Cyme. 
About 420-400 b. c. Advance of Rome into Campania and 

southern Etruria. 
382 B. C. Rome captured by the Gauls. 
312 b. c. Building of the Appian Road. 
343-290 b. c. Period in which the Samnite Wars occurred. 
281-272 b. c. War with Tarentum and Pyrrhus. 
275 b. c. Defeat of Pyrrhus by the Romans at Beneventum. 
272 B. C. Tarentum taken. Italy south of the Po valley 

under Rome's dominion. 

2. 272-146 b. c. Rome Becomes a World Power. Begin- 
ning of Conquest Eastward. Hellenizing of Rome. 

Punic Wars. 

264-241 b. c. First Punic War 

241 B. C. Sicily annexed as Roman territory. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 507 

237 B. C. Sardinia and Corsica taken from Carthage. 

236-219 b. c. Conquest of Spain by Carthage. 

225-222 b. c. Conquest of Celts in Po Valley by Rome. 

218-201 B. C. Second Punic War. Hannibal. 

216 B. C. Battle of Cannae. 

212 b. c. Syracuse captured by the Romans. 

210-206 b. c. Scipio defeats Carthaginians in Spain. 

201 B. C. Battle of Zama. Treaty by which Spain is ceded 

to Rome. 
149-146 b. c. Third Punic War. 
146 B. C. Destruction of Carthage. Rome supreme in the 

West. Province of Africa formed. 

Rome's Advance Eastward. 

229-228 b. c. Conquest of Illyrian pirates. 

216 b. c. Alliance of Philip V of Macedon with Hannibal. 

200-197 b. c. War between Philip and Rome. 

197 b. c. Philip defeated at Cynoscephalae. 

197 B. C. Organization of the two provinces of Spain. 

196 B. C. Declaration of freedom of Greek cities by Flamini- 

us. 
191-189 b. c. War with Antiochus III of Syria. 
190 b. c. Defeat of Antiochus at Magnesia. 
171-168 b. c. War with Perseus of Macedon. 
168 B. C. Defeat of Perseus at Pydna. 
168-146 b. c. Rome's new policy of conquest. 
164 b. c. Commerce of Rhodes destroyed by Romans. 
146 B. C. Corinth destroyed. Province of Macedon and 

Greece established. 

Hellenizing of Rome. 

272-201 b. c. Greek slaves and teachers come to Rome. 
272 B. C. Livius Andronicus brought to Rome. 

240 b. c. Greek plays first given at Rome. 

About 210-159 b. c. Greek comedies translated by Plautus and 

Terence. 
168 b. c. Slaves and booty brought from Macedon, Epirus, and 

Greece. 



508 HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 

3. 146-27 b. c. Foreign Wars and Territorial Expansion. 
The Popular Party and Growth of the One -Man Power. 

Foreign Wars and Territorial Expansion. 

133 B. C. Kingdom of Pergamum becomes the Roman prov- 
ince of Asia. 

112-105 b. c. War with Jugurtha. 

102-101 b. c. Invasion of the Cimbri and Teutons turned back. 

89-64 b. c. War with Mithradates of Pontus. Roman domain 
extends to the Euphrates river. 

59—49 B. C. Gaul conquered by Caesar. 

31 B. C. Battle of Actium. Egypt incorporated in Roman 
state. 

The Popular Party and the Reform Movement. 

133-122 b. c. The reform movement led by the Gracchi. 

133 b. c. Tiberius Gracchus as Tribune. 

123-2 b. c. Tribuneship of Gaius Gracchus. 

107-100 b. c. Marius, leader of the popular party, six times 
elected consul. 

91 b. c. Reform movement led by Livius Drusus. 

90-88 B. C. Social War. The Italians gain Roman citizen- 
ship. 

Civil Wars. 

88-82 b. c. Civil Wars between Senatorial and Popular parties 
(Sulla and Marius). 

81-79 B. C. Sulla supreme in the Roman world. Power of 
the Senate restored. 

83-72 b. c. Civil wars against Sertorius, a follower of Marius, in 
Spain. Pompey gains glory. 

The One-Man Power Established. 

70 b. c. Popular party restored to power by Pompey and Crassus. 

67 B. C. Gabinian Law ) TT , , . ^ 

^z- -r. ^. -n/r .,- x r Unusual powers granted to Pompey. 

66 B. C. Mamlian Law ) 

61 b. c. First Triumvirate. Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus con- 
trol the Roman world. 

49-44 b. c. Civil war of Caesar against Pompey and the senatorial 
forces. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 509 

49-44 B. C. Caesar sole ruler. The one-man power an 

accomplished fact. 
44 b. c. Assassination of Caesar. 
43 b. c. Second Triumvirate formed. 
31 B. C. Battle of Actium. Augustus supreme. 
27 B. C. The Empire established by Octavius (Augustus). 

IV. 27 B. C.-395 A. D. DEVELOPMENT OF THE EMPIRE 
AND ITS DECLINE. GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY. 

1. 27 b. C.-96 a. d. A Century of Progress. 
The Empire. 

14 a. d. Death of Augustus and accession of Tiberius. 
54—62 a. d. Good years of Nero's rule. Seneca. 
68-69 a. d. Civil Wars. 

69-79 A. D. Excellent administration of Vespasian. Organ- 
ization of imperial domains. 
79 a. d. Destruction of Herculaneum and Pompeii. 
96 a. d. End of Flavian line by assassination of Domitian. 

Christianity. 

4 b. c. (?) Birth of Christ. 

About 30 a. d. Crucifixion of Christ. 

About 40-65 a. d. Many congregations established by Paul. 

64 a. d. Burning of Rome blamed upon Christians. 

2. 96-305 a. d. Stationary Period under the Antonines. 
The Decline in the Third Century. 

98-117 a. d. Trajan's conquests and addition of territory. 
161-180 a. d. Marcus Aurelius. Germans brought in as coloni. 
212 A. D. Edict of Caracalla. Roman citizenship widespread. 
235-270 A. D. Period of anarchy and commercial decline. 
259-273 a. d. Independent kingdoms of Gaul and Palmyra. 
270-273 a. d. Gaul and Palmyra reconquered. Aurelian. 
285-305 A. D. Reorganization of the empire by Diocletian. 

Christianity. 

112 a. d. Christianity declared an illegal worship. 
249-251 a. d. General persecutions under Decius. 
About 200-300 a. d. Christian Apologists. Literary defense of 
Christianity. 



510 HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 

3. 305-395 a. d. Christianity Victorious. 

311 A. D. Edict of Galerius legalizes Christianity in the East. 

313 a. d. Edict of Milan legalizes Christianity in Roman world. 

325 a. d. Constantine. Council at Nicsea. 

330 A. D. Constantinople becomes the capital of the Roman 
Empire. 

378 a. d. Visigoths defeat Roman forces at Hadrianople. 

394 A. D. Theodosius Ends the Olympic Games. Chris- 
tianity the sole state religion. 

V. 395-800 A. D. GERMAN INVASIONS. GERMANS 
RULE THE WESTERN HALF OF THE EMPIRE 
AND ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY. RISE AND SPREAD 
OF MOHAMMEDANISM. 

1. 395-565 a. d. Germanic Invasions and Kingdoms. 

410 A. D. Rome captured by the Visigoths under Alaric. 

414-427 a. d. Visigoths establish a kingdom in Spain. 

427 a. d. Vandals cross into Africa. 

427-534 a. d. Vandal kingdom in Africa. 

451 A. D. Invasion of the Huns. Battle of Chalons. 

476 a. d. Romulus Augustulus deposed. Last of Roman rulers 

in the West. 
481 A. D. Clovis establishes kingdom of the Franks in Gaul. 
488 a. d. Ostrogoths under Theodoric invade Italy. 
493-552 a. d. Ostrogothic kingdom in Italy. 
527-565 A. D. Justinian. Attempt to reunite old Roman 

Empire. Code of Justinian. 
534 a. d. Belisarius ends Vandal rule in Africa. 
552 a. d. Narses ends Ostrogothic rule in Italy. 
565 a. d. Lombards invade Italy. 

2. 565-S00 a. d. Growth of the Frankish Kingdom. Spread 
of Christianity and Mohammedanism. 

596 a. d. Pope Gregory the Great. Conversion of Britain. 
About 600 a. d. Beginning of missionary work in German}'. 
622 A. D. The Hegira. Mohammed. 



HISTORICAL SYNOPSIS OF EVENTS AND DATES 511 

632 a. d. Death of Mohammed. 

639-751 a. d. Do-nothing kings of the Franks. The Mayors of 

the Palace rule. 
639-695 a. d. Mohammedan expansion along north Africa. 
695-732 a. d. Mohammedan conquest of Spain. 
719 a. d. St. Boniface begins his conversion of the Germans. 
732 A. D. Battle of Tours. Charles Martel. 
751 b. c. Pippin declared king of the Franks. Carolingian house 

established. 
800 A. D. Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the Romans by 

the Pope. 



QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION, COMPARATIVE 

STUDIES AND EXERCISES, AND SUGGESTIONS 

FOR MAP WORK 

Note for the Teacher 

These exercises contain some questions of fact, the intention of which 
is to bring out certain important features of the topic or period dealt 
with in each chapter. The greater part of them, however, are merely 
suggestions to the teacher for supplementary work which is to be taken 
up only after the task of learning and discussing the assigned lesson has 
been completed. The general purpose of these suggestions is to supply 
the teacher with material based upon the text which may be used for 
the following five ends: 

1. To stimulate thought in the pupil. 

2. To bring out the striking likenesses and differences between ancient 
and modern society. 

3. To emphasize points of contrast or similarity in the life and attain- 
ments of the different peoples of antiquity. 

4. To make the illustrations useful in visualizing ancient life. 

5. To develop the feeling of the continuity and unity of the history 
of civilization. 

Int. — 1. In what ways does the ability to make steel give us a great 
advantage over the ancient peoples? Name all the uses of steel in 
making things which the ancients did not have. 2. In what stage of 
civilization were the Indians when Columbus discovered America? 
Compare their civilization with that of the ancient prehistoric peoples. 
3. Name six kinds of articles found in ancient tombs and other ruins. 
In what way does each kind help us to form a picture of the life of the 
ancient people? 4. Compare the prehistoric drawing of reindeer on 
page 4 with a modern picture of a reindeer (see Webster's Dictionary). 
Did these prehistoric men draw well or poorly? 

Chap. I.— -1. Study the illustrations on page 14 and tell from them 
how the ancient Egyptians dressed, how they looked, how they wore 
their hair, and what the hieroglyphs looked like. 2. Describe the size, 
material, construction, and purpose of an Egyptian pyramid. 3. Com- 
pare the Egyptian calendar year with our own calendar year. 4. How 
did the Egyptians preserve their own likenesses and those of their 
friends? How do we do this to-day? 5. In this chapter there are ten 
different occupations named or suggested by which an Egyptian might 
earn his living. Name as many of these as you can. 

Chap. II. — 1. From this chapter get all the information you can find 
upon the materials which came into Egypt as tribute or as articles of 
trade. 2. For what purpose were each of the articles used which appear 
in the inscription regarding trade from Punt on page 26? Were these 
articles necessities of life or luxuries for the rich? 3. Has Egypt to-day 

33 513 



514 QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 

a more or less important plaee in the world than in the time of the 
ancient Empire? Why? 4. Prepare a topical outline from chapters 
1 and 2 of the character and development of Egyptian religion and its 
influence upon the people and government. 

Chap. III. — 1. Compare, on the map, the Nile Valley with that of 
the Tigris and Euphrates. Which is better fitted to bring about the 
development of a single state, and which is the more open to conquest 
and influence by surrounding peoples? 2. To what three important 
uses was clay put in old Babylonian life? 3. Name six different sub- 
jects which you can prove, out of this chapter, to have been treated 
in the laws of Hammurabi. 4. Compare the processes of building in 
Babylonia with those in Egypt. 5. What were the important things 
contributed by the Babylonians to the progress of mankind? Compare 
these with the achievements of the Egyptians. 

Chap. IV. — 1. Name and locate the four great centers of civiliza- 
tion which exist ed in 1500 b. c. Show on the map at what places these 
four would probably come into contact, one with another. 2. Com- 
pare the drawing of human figures in the illustrations of Hittite reliefs 
and Cretan drawings with the pictures showing Egyptian figures. 
Which do you consider to be the more life-like? 3. Describe the weap- 
ons carried by a Hittite warrior (page 43) and compare them with those 
of the negro soldiers of Egypt (page 22). 

Chap. V. — 1. What features of the geographical position of Phoe- 
nicia helped to determine its history? 2. What connection has tin- 
purple shell-fish with the Phoenician colonization of the West? 3. 
What raw products come to Phoenicia by way of her colonies in Spain? 
4. Name six products which the Syrians sent to the Phoenician mar- 
kets'.' 5. Name four kinds of goods manufactured by the Phoenicians. 
6. Study the illustration on page 49 carefully and then write a brief 
description of a Phoenician ship. By what two methods were they 
propelled? 

Chap. VI. — 1. What would the Assyrian kings wish to gain by con- 
quering the cities of Palestine? Use the source material in this chapter 
in answering this question. 2. From the map tell what other kingdom 
in addition to Assyria would wish to get control of the Jewish cities. 
3. What would result if we should suddenly do away with all the money 
coinage in the world of to-day? 4. Compare the extent of the Persian 
empire in the time of Darius with that of Assyria and with the Egyptian 
empire of Amenhotep III. 5. Name and locate seven different peoples, 
whose history we have studied, who were subjects of the Persian king, 
Darius. 

Chap. VII. — 1. How does geographical environment affect the 
history of a people? Show, for example, how the mountains and 
valleys o( Greece affected the life story of its people. 2. Is Egypt or 
Greece better adapted to the formation of a single unified state? Why? 
3. In what way do the early religious beliefs of the Creeks show the 
nature of their occupations? 4. What are the substitutes, in civilized 
communities, for the old method of settling disputes by blood feuds 
and blood fines? Which method is the better? 5. Describe the weap- 
ons and other equipment of a Mycenaean-Greek warrior. See illus- 
tration on page S3. 



QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 515 

Chap. VIII, — 1. What three social classes appear in the Homeric 
poems? Which is the most powerful of these? 2. Did the Homeric 
Greeks have as good an understanding of art as the Cretans? Compare 
the drawing on page 90 with those on pages 47 and 48. 3. Compare 
the government of the Greek tribes in the Homeric period with the 
governments of Egypt and Babylonia. What is the chief difference? 

4. Look up, in the encyclopedia, the cause of thunder, and explain how 
our scientific knowledge of its cause has destroyed the belief in thunder 
as an omen of divine anger. 

Chap. IX. — 1. Compare the motives of the colonization of our own 
country in the seventeenth century a. d. with that of the Greeks. 
Where did the colonists, in each case, get their charters? 2. What 
was the basis of the wealth of the following Greek colonies: Tarentum, 
Massilia, Cyrene, Byzantium? Locate each of these upon the map. 
3. Determine from the map what routes the ships of Corinth would 
follow in carrying her trade to the north and to the west. 4. Locate 
upon the map the colonies sent out from the cities of Eubcea, and show 
how these could compete with Corinth for the trade in the north and 
west. 5. Name and discuss, in the order of their importance, six 
results of colonization upon the development of Greek life. 

Chap. X. — 1. In what way did the form of the city-state tend to 
encourage democracy? 2. With what organizations are our amateur 
athletics connected in America to-day? With what phase of life were 
Greek athletics connected? 3. Would you consider the spirit of Greek 
athletics to be "amateur" or "professional?" 4. What were the three 
branches of government in the Homeric period? Show by a diagram, 
how each of these had developed in Athens by the time of Clisthenes. 

5. Look up in the dictionary the meaning of the term "economic" in 
the phrases "economic troubles" and "economic causes. " 6. In what 
way may the ancient Olympic games be compared to our modern world 
fairs? 

Chap. XL — 1. Discuss the training of the Spartan boy and compare 
it with the training of boys in our own schools. 2. The object of Spar- 
tan training and our own is undoubtedly the same, namely, to produce 
good and useful citizens. Determine the difference between the Spar- 
tan and our own ideas of the qualities demanded in a good and useful 
citizen. 3. Make a diagram of the branches of government in the 
Homeric and Spartan states, showing the relation of the latter to the 
former. 4. Show how the Spartan state system tended to bring about 
war with the neighbors of Sparta. 5. Compare the warrior life of a 
Spartan with the democratic life of an Athenian after the reforms of 
Solon. Which would produce the higher type of man? 

Chap. XII. — 1. Draw a map of Greece, the ^Egean Sea, and Asia 
Minor and locate the cities mentioned in paragraph one of page 120. 

2. Which of the teachings of Anaxagoras are held at the present day? 

3. Compare a modern battleship with a Greek trireme, in size, construc- 
tion, and number in the crews, and explain the difference in their 
methods of fighting. 4. Give three facts which show the genius and 
political keenness of Themistocles. 5. Give five important results of 
the victory of the Greeks over the Persians. 



516 QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 

Chap. XIII. — 1. What were the qualifications demanded for mem- 
bership in the Boule of Erythrae? Work out the exact method of 
choosing its members. (Page 137.) 2. What means did Athens have of 
controlling events at Erythrae? (Page 137.) 3. In what four points 
did Athens dictate to the Erythraeans what they must do? (Page 137.) 
4. Was Pericles right or wrong in thinking that pay for public service 
is necessary in a democratic government? Why? 5. Draw a sketch 
map showing the extent of the Delian League on sea and land at the 
height of Athenian power. 

Chap. XIV. — 1. From this and the preceding chapter write a brief 
account of the character, personality, and plans of Pericles? Do you 
consider him a great man? Why? 2. In this chapter there are men- 
tioned 25 different t rades in which At henians might be engaged. Make 
a list of these and explain the trades. 3. Which do you consider 
better, the limited citizenship of ancient Athens, or the general right 
of all men over 21 years of age to vote and stand for office, as in our 
country? 4. Explain the obligations assumed by the Athenians in 
their treaty with Chalcis. (Pages 150-151.) 5. Explain the obligations 
assumed by the Chalcidians in the same treaty. Which city had the 
better of the agreement? 

Chap. XV. — 1. With what phase of Greek life were the dramas con- 
nected? Name five ways in which the Greek theater and dramatic 
performances differed from those of to-day. (See the picture of the 
theater of Epidaurus on page 196.) 2. Was Pericles right, and are we 
right, in expending the money of the state for beautiful public buildings? 
Why? Who gets the benefit of their beauty? 3. Was Antigone right, 
in Sophocles' play, in taking the stand which she did against the law 
of her state? 4. Are there any Greek columns used in any public 
buildings in your city? If so, describe them and determine to what 
one of the three Greek "orders" they belong. 

Chap. XVI.— 1. Would a plague such as befell Athens in 430-428 
b. c. be more or less deadly now than at that time? Explain your 
answer. 2. For what reasons is Thucydides regarded as an excellent 
source of information upon the Peloponnesian Wars? Is his book a 
better source than this text -book? Why? 3. What points in regard/ 
to the character of Alcibiades are brought out in the story which Plu- 
tarch tells about him? 4. Determine from the map, as nearly as you 
can, the distance from Athens to Sicily. Was Alcibiades' plan of estab- 
lishing an Athenian empire so far to the west a wise one? 5. What 
effect has the invention of the telegraph, the cable, steamships, and rail- 
roads, had upon the control of dependent lands across the sea? Can 
we control the Philippine Islands as well or better than Athens could 
control Sicily? 

Chap. XVII. — 1. Why did Cyrus, a Persian, hire Greek troops to 
help him in his expedition against the Persian king at Babylon? 2. 
Did the fall of Athens in 404 b. c. t urn out to the advantage or disadvan- 
t age of t he cit ies of the Delian League? 3. Why did soldiers, in ancient 
times, fight in closely-packed lines, whereas modern generals prefer to 
station their soldiers several paces distant one from another? 4. Com- 
pare an ancient catapult or ballista, in range and power of destruction, 
with a modern cannon. 5. Do yon agree with Socrates that, knowing 
what is good, men will necessarily do good things? 



QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 517 

Chap. XVIII. — 1. Compare the decree on pp. 187, 188 with that 
upon the constitution of Erythrae, page 137. which is from the early 
period of the first Delian League: (a) In the decree regarding Erythrae 
did Athens dictate to the Erythraeans the form of their government? 
Does she do so in the now decree? (b) Point out three changes in the 
attitude of Athens toward the members of the League, as shown in 
these two decrees, (c) In the new league, which party gained the advan- 
tage, Athens or the allies? 2. B\- whom, how, and where were Athe- 
nian decrees published? Answer from the decree in this chapter. 

3. Describe, from this decree, the method by which public monies were 
paid out at Athens. What body actually kept the money in charge 
and paid it out when ordered? What bodies had the power to give 
orders that public money should be paid out? 4. Compare the Con- 
gress held at the Isthmus in 337 b. c. with that held there in 4S1 b. c. 
and show clearly the difference in their aims. What great change had 
taken place in the relations between the Greeks and the Persians? 

Chap. XIX. — 1. Why is slavery not permitted in any civilized 
country at the present day? 2. In what ways did ancient Greek slavery 
differ from slavery in our southern states before the war of the rebel- 
lion? 3. Give three important economic results of Alexander's con- 
quests. 4. Give three important intellectual results. 5. Why are 
wars, either ancient or modern, so very costly? What more reasonable 
method of settling disputes between nations is employed at the pres- 
ent day? 

Chap. XX. — 1. Locate on the map and give the boundaries of the 
four kingdoms formed out of Alexander's empire. 2. Which of these 
can be most easily defended? 3. Compare the plan of the initiative 
and referendum, which is being advocated in the United States to-day, 
with the method of voting in the assembly of the Achaean League. 

4. Make a diagram comparing the central organization of the Achaean 
League with the main branches of our national government. 

Chap. XXI. — 1. In what five ways is the "hellenizing" of western 
Asia shown in this chapter? 2. How much money did Aurelius Septi- 
mius Irenaeus earn during his career as an athlete? (See pages 227 and 
22S.) 3. Describe, as far as you can. the business life and public build- 
ings of ancient Alexandria. 4. Draw a map. tracing on it the routes by 
which the trade of Alexandria would go eastward, westward, and 
northward. 5. By what route does most of the trade from the Mediter- 
ranean sea go to India and China at the present day? Compare this 
with the ancient route by water. 

Chap. XXII. — 1. Compare the map of the world as drawn by 
Eratosthenes with a modern map showing Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
and show what parts of these continents he knew well and what parts 
were not well known to him. 2. How far wrong was Eratos- 
thenes in regard to the circumference of the earth'? 3. Compare 
the theory which Aristarchus held in regard to the solar system 
with the modern theory. Why did most people in ancient times believe 
that the sun revolved around the earth? 4. Name four branches of 
scientific study in which the people of the Hellenistic age were interested, 



518 QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 

and give the name of one ancient scientist who was important in each 
branch. 5. Name five different kinds of literature, mentioned in this 
chapter, which a man of the Hellenistic age might read for pleasure 
rather than for the sake of study. 

Chap. XXIII. — 1. There are four illustrations in this chapter. 
Write, in brief sentences, all the points which you can learn from each 
of these, that will help you in understanding the life and civilization of 
the people dealt with in the chapter. 2. Study the map of the Medi- 
terranean countries on page 300 and explain in detail why Italy is 
better situated to become the center of a Mediterranean empire than 
Persia; than Egypt; than Greece. 3. From the same map determine 
the approximate distance by sea from Rome to lower Spain; from Re me 
to Rhodes; from Rome to the mouth of the Nile river. 4. Explain the 
reason why we know more about the Assyrian empire in the years 
745-606 b. c. (see chapter VI) than about Rome during the same 
period. 

Chap. XXIV. — 1. Compare the early Roman religion with the early 
Greek religion and point out their similarities and differences. Which 
people was the more interested in farming and which in herding cattle? 
2. Make a diagram comparing the early form of the Roman state with 
the Homeric government in Greece. 3. Tell the story of Aulus Postu- 
mius and his soil and determine which the Roman considered more 
important, devotion to the state or devotion to one's family. 

Chap. XXV. — 1. Compare the Roman Laws of the Twelve Tables 
with the Athenian Laws of Draco in the following particulars: date; 
reasons why they were passed; matters dealt with in each. 2. From the 
picture on page 264 describe the weapons and defensive armor of a 
Roman warrior. 3. Make an abstract showing how the plebeians 
gained the right to hold the offices at Rome, and how they gained the 
right to pass laws for the state. 4. From the illustration on page 271 
learn all that you can of the Etruscan sport of horse-racing. 

Chap. XXVI. — 1. Why did Rome make an alliance with Carthage 
in the time of Dionysius of Syracuse? Why in the time of Pyrrhus? 
Why did their alliance change to hostility after the time of Pyrrhus? 
2. What was the great motive back of all the political wars and alli- 
ances of Carthage? 3. Give three reasons why Polybius is to be con- 
sidered a better source upon the Punic Wars than Livy. 4. In what 
two ways was the Carthaginian state stronger than the Roman? In 
what two ways weaker? 5. What difference is there in the method of 
fighting in a modern and an ancient naval battle? (See illustration on 
page 284.) In which, do you think, would the loss of life be greater? 6. 
Was Hannibal justified in his hatred toward Rome? 

Chap. XXVII.— 1. How can you explain the fact that the loss of 
life in an ancient battle, fought with javelins and swords, is so much 
greater than that in a modern battle, fought with guns? 2. Write an 
abstract for a brief sketch of the life of Hannibal under the following 
headings: boyhood, designs against Rome, wars with Rome, last years 
and death, character and estimate of ability. 3. During Hannibal's 



QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 519 

wars in Italy thousands of Rome's best citizens were in the armies eacli 
summer. What effect must this have had upon business in Italy? 
4. Is this waste of human energy sensible? What other method have 
we to-day for settling international dispute - 

Chap. XXVIII. — 1. From the information given in this chapter 
work out an abstract of the various matters attended to in the Tribal 
Assembly. 2. Do the same in the case of the Centuriate Assembly. 
3. From the illustration given on page 306 describe the appearance and 
dress of a typical Roman citizen. 4. Make a list of the Roman magis- 
trates mentioned in this chapter and state the duties of each, using the 
index for additional information. 5. What should be the only pur- 
pose of a state in taxing its citizens? Was the system of tax-farming a 
good or bad system? Why? 

Chap. XXIX. — 1. Name and locate four great kingdoms existing 
in the Mediterranean world in 200 b. c. 2. Name and locate five other 
important free cities or states which were not monarchies, existing at 
the same time. 3. Take the list of provinces annexed by the Roman 
state before the year 132 b. c. (page 309) and enumerate the wars 
through which each of these was added as Roman domain. 4. Look 
up the word "Carthage" in the Index and write an abstract of the 
history of this city. 5. What were the policies of Philip V of Macedon 
toward the following states: Rome; the Achaean League; Athens: the 
iEgean Islands; Egypt? (See pages 210. 222. 298, 314. 315.) 

Chap. XXX. — 1. Find in this chapter four ways by which the knowl- 
edge of the Greek language and civilization came to Rome. 2. Deter- 
mine from the decree of the Roman Senate given upon page 327, the 
answers to the following questions: a What magistrates had the 
right of calling the Senate together? (b ) Why did the Romans, in 
official decrees, give the name of the father of each man mentioned? 
(c) What number of the Senate formed a quorum when this decree was 
passed? 3. Do you consider the new freedom of women in the Roman 
state to be good for the state, or bad? Be ready to defend your answer 
in informal debate. 

Chap. XXXI. — I. From the illustration on page 332 tell what 
you can about ancient ploughs and ploughing. 2. Find on pages 260 and 
331-333 four reasons for the ruin of the small farmer in Italy. 3. What 
laws of the Gracchi were intended to apply directly toward bettering the 
condition of the Italian small farmer? 4. Do you regard the two 
Gracchi as patriots devoted to the Roman state or only as ambitious 
politicians? Give the reasons for your answer. 

Chap. XXXII. — 1. What two examples of the neglect of Roman 
constitutional customs can you find in the story of the Gracchi? 2. 
Give three incidents occurring in the years 106 to 90 b. c. which show the 
loss of respect for the Roman laws and the magistrates. 3. Show clearly 
how the three proposals of Sulla for the restoration of the Senate are a 
direct consequence of the work of the Gracchi and of Marius. 4. Make 
an abstract of the chief dates and events in the lives of Marius and Sulla 
as they appear in the text. 



520 QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 

Chap. XXX11I. — 1. From pages 354 and 355 determine eight dif- 
ferent occupations in which slaves were engaged in Rome. 2. Compare 
this with the occupations of slaves in our southern states before the 
civil war. 3. Describe in your own words the manners and appearance 
of Julius Caesar. 4. Make an outline tracing the history and decline 
of the tribuneship from the time of Tiberius Gracchus, in 133 b. c, to 
the year 65 b. c. 5. Name the four men most prominent in Roman 
politics in the year 60 b. c. and try to state, in a single phrase for each, 
what were the particular gifts which raised these men to power. 
6. Why did the aristocratic party refuse to support Pompey in 62 b. c. 
(page 462) if he was originally a member of that party (page 356)? 

Chap. XXXIV. — 1. State briefly your opinion of Julius Caesar, 
(a) as a general, (b) as a statesman, (c) as a man, giving reasons for 
your decision in each case. 2. Look up the derivations of our names 
for the twelve months of the year and show how they are connected 
with the Roman calendar. 3. From the illustrations on pages 354 and 
377 and the account on page 377 give, in your own words, an idea of the 
Roman gladiatorial combats and animal hunts. 4. Could such shows 
be exhibited at the present day? Why not? 5. Give the names of 
five writers mentioned in this chapter who may be regarded as ancient 
sources upon the history, life, and spirit of the days of Caesar. 

Chap. XXXV. — 1. Where did Antonius, Octavius and Lepidus get 
their idea of forming a triumvirate? Where did they get the idea of 
the proscriptions? 2. What offices did Augustus take which gave him 
each of the following supreme powers: military, religious, civil, judicial? 
3. Show how the weaknesses of the old provincial system (pp. 310-311) 
were corrected in the imperial provinces of Augustus. 4. Compare 
the map upon page 388, with that upon page 321 and mark the territory 
added to the Roman state from 133 b. c. to the death of Augustus. 

Chap. XXXVI. — 1. What is the great difference between the Greek 
epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, and the iEneid in the manner in which 
they were composed? 2. Do Horace's poems show that the Roman 
youth of his day were being trained to endure hardships, or that they were 
not? Explain. 3. Describe a Roman school from the illustration upon 
page 397. 

Chap. XXXVII. — 1. Name the emperors of the first century whom 
you consider admirable, giving reasons for your statement. 2. Give 
a brief characterization of Nero. 3. Do you consider the payments of 
crops made by the coloni to be very large or reasonable? 4. In what 
way could the six days of service, falling at the time of the ploughing, 
sowing, and harvesting, be a burden to them? 

Chap. XXXVIII. — 1. What can you learn from the illustration on 
page 409 about an ancient town, its houses, streets, and surroundings'.' 
2. Name from this chapter twelve businesses in which a Pompeian 
might have been engaged. 3. Would Tacitus have 1 considered Nero or 
Paul the more important person? Why? 4. Why is Paul to be 
considered by us as the more important character? 

Chap. XXXIX. — 1. Locate on the map the provinces conquered 
by Trajan. 2. Trace the three routes, land and sea, by which a Roman 



QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 521 

might travel to Byzantium. 3. Trace the three routes by which he 
might go to Gades. Which of these three would take the least time? 

4. From this and the preceding chapter make an abstract showing the 
development of Christianity from the birth of Christ to the time of 
Marcus Aurelius. 

Chap. XL. — 1. Describe the armor and standard of the praetorian 
guard from the illustration on page 438. 2. Describe in detail the 
appearance of the villa and garden of an African land-owner from the 
illustration upon page 440. 3. Locate Palmyra on the map. 4. What 
is the style of architecture of the ruined temple shown upon page 441? 

5. What does this show in regard to the life in Palmyra? Was it Roman, 
Arabian, or Greek? See also page 225. 6. Write a description of the 
Roman forum based upon the restoration on page 447. 7. Page 448. 
Why docs Aurelius Diogenes say that he has offered sacrifices to the 
gods? 8. How is this document regarding Aurelius Diogenes dated? 

Chap. XLI. — 1. Write a brief abstract with dates showing the 
progress of Christianity in the fourth century of our era. 2. Give 
four distinct reasons which impelled Constantine to make Constanti- 
nople his capital. 3. Determine whether or not Constantine deserves 
the title of "the Great" more than Augustus Caesar. Be prepared to 
give reasons for your belief in an informal debate. 4. Look up Byzan- 
tium and Constantinople in the index of this book and in the encyclo- 
pedia and make a short abstract of the important events in the history 
of the city to 1453 a. d. 5. Which city is the more advantageously 
situated, Constantinople or Rome? 

Chap. XLIL— 1. What may be learned from the illustration on 
page 466 of the Germans and their life? 2. Look up the term coloni in 
the index and give a general view of the development of this class in the 
society of the Roman empire. 3. Make a brief abstract of the move- 
ments of the Visigoths from 370 to 430 a. d. Give the dates and reasons 
for each important movement and keep this abstract for further devel- 
opment. 4. What can be learned from the illustration on page 471 of 
the Roman knowledge of building and engineering? 5. Write an esti- 
mate in fifty words of the character and ability' of Theodoric. 

Chap. XLIII. — 1. Draw a map of the Roman empire as it was at 
the death of Augustus (see page 388) and show what portions of it had 
been lost to the Germans by the accession of Justinian. 2. Explain 
this statement: "Justinian stood for unity in territoiy, religion, and 
law." 3. Add all the information which you can obtain from this 
chapter in regard to the Visigoths, to the abstract made from the last 
chapter. 4. From chapters XLII and XLIII make a brief abstract of the 
movements and history of the Vandals from their original home to the 
time of their destruction in Africa. 5. Why is it important for us to 
know something of the development of Roman law? 6. Compare the 
Christian-Roman buildings depicted on pages 472 and 476 with the 
old Greco-Roman architecture shown in the restorations on pages 
430 and 447. What are the chief points of difference? 

Chap. XLIV. — 1. Compare the Burgundian clasp (page 483) with 
the examples of Cretan art shown on pages 47 and 48 and decide which 
people had the better knowledge of art. 2. Compare the coin of Dago- 



522 QUESTIONS FOR INFORMAL DISCUSSION 

bert (page 485) with the Athenian coin on page 347. Why had the 
ability to mint artistic coins so greatly declined? 3. In what way may 
the work of the Christian missionaries in China to-day be compared with 
that of the missionaries in the time of Pope Gregory the Great? 4. Do 
you think that the Roman emperor, Marcus Aurelius, would have 
killed one of his soldiers as Clovis did the warrior at Soissons? Does 
this show an advance or decline in civilization? 

Chap. XLV. — 1. What parts of the Roman empire of Augustus 
were lost to the Mohammedans in the years 632 to 732 a. d.? Compare 
the maps on pages 388 and 497. 2. What two things did the Papacy 
gain from its alliance with the Carolingian house? 3. W T hat two impor- 
tant things did the Carolingians gain? 4. Compare on the maps or 
from the descriptions in the text-books the territory embraced by the 
following ancient empires: 1. The Persian. 2. Empire of Alexander. 
3. The Roman empire under Trajan. 4. The Mohammedan empire. 
5. The empire of Charlemagne. 5. To which one of these may the 
term "world-empire" best be applied? 



BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

I 

A SMALL LIBRARY 

A list of books most necessary and best adapted to outside reading for 
high-school pupils. Cost $27.00. The sum of six dollars would be most 
advantageously employed by buying the books marked thus*. 

A. Source Material 

Botsford, G. W. The Story of Rome . Macmillan, New York. $.90 
Fling, F. M. A Source Book of Greek History. D. C. Heath & Co., 

Boston. $1.00 
Lang, Leaf and Myer. The Iliad of Homer. Macmillan, New York. 

$.80 
Munro, D. C. A Source Book of Roman History. D. C. Heath & Co., 

Boston. $.90 
Palmer, G. H. The Odyssey of Homer. Houghton Mifflin Co., 

New York. $.75 
*Plutarch , s Lives. Translated by A. H. Clough. Everyman's Library. 

Dutton, New York. 3 vols. ($.35 each) 

B. Secondary Works 

Baikie, James. Story of the Pharaohs. Illustrated. Macmillan, 
New York. $2.00 

Baikie, James. The Sea-Kings of Crete. The best popular work on 
Cretan civilization. Illustrated. Macmillan, New York. $2.00 

Davis, W. S. An Outline History of the Roman Empire. Macmil- 
lan, New York. $.65 

Emerton, E. Introduction to the Middle Ages. Ginn & Co., New 
York. $1.12 

Fairbanks, A. Mythology of Greece and Rome. Appleton, New 
York. $1.50 

Gulick, Chas. B. Life of the Ancient Greeks. Illustrated. Apple- 
ton, New York. $1.40 

How and Leigh. A History of Rome. Longmans, Green & Co., 
New York. $2.00 

Mahaffy, J. P. Survey of Greek Civilization. Macmillan, New York. 
$1.00 

523 



524 BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Maspero, G. Life in Ancient Egypt and Assyria. Illustrated. 

Appleton, New York. $1.50 
Messerschmidt, L. The Hittites. The only popular work available 

on this subject. David Nutt, London. Is. 
Pelham, H. F. Outlines of Roman History. Excellent treatment of 

the political history of the Roman republic and empire. Put- 
nam's Sons, New York. $1.75 
*Preston and Dodge. Private Life of the Romans. Illustrated. 

Sanborn & Co., Boston. $1.05 
*Seignobos, Ch. History of Ancient Civilization. Excellent reading 

for high school pupils. Scribner, New York. $1.25 
*Tarbell, F. B. History of Greek Art. Illustrated. Macmillan, New 

York. $1.00 
Thomas, E. Roman Life wider the CcBsars. Illustrated. Putnam's 

Sons, New York. $1.75 
Tucker, T. G. Life in Ancient Athens. Illustrated. Macmillan, 

New York. $1.25 

II 
ADDITIONAL LIST FOR A LARGER LIBRARY 

The books marked with a * will be found to be especially helpful. 
PREHISTORIC AND ANCIENT ORIENTAL PERIODS 

Benjamin, S. G. W. Story of Persia. Putnam, New York. $1.50 
Breasted, J. H. A History of Egypt. The best book in English 

upon the subject. Well illustrated. Scribner, New York. $5.00 
*Breasted, J. H. A History of the Ancient Egyptians. Simplified 

form of the foregoing book, without illustrations. Excellent. 

Scribner, New York. $1.25 
Budge, E. A. W. Babylonian Life and History. London. 3 sh. 
Clodd, Ed. The Story of Primitive Man. Appleton, New York. $.35 
Cornill, C. H. History of the People of Israel. Open Court Pub. 

Co., Chicago. $1.50 
*Cunningham, W. Western Civilization (vol. I). The best book on 

the economic side of ancient history. Macmillan, New York. 

$1.25 
Day, Edward. Social Life of the Hebrews. Scribner, New York. 

$1.25 
Erman, J. P. A. Life in Ancient Egypt. Macmillan, New York. 

$6.00 
Goodspeed, G. S. History of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Scrib- 
ner, New York. $1.25 



BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 525 

Hawes and Hawes. Crete, the Forerunner of Greece. Excellent 

treatment of the Cretan civilization. Harper & Brothers, New 

York, 1909. $.75 
Hoernes, M. Primitive Man. Macmillan, New York. $.40 
Ho.mmel, F. Civilization of the East. Macmillan, New York. $.40 
Kent, Charles F. History of the Hebrew People. I. The United 

Kingdom. II. The Divided Kingdom. Scribner, New York. 

$2.50 
Mosso, A. The Palaces of Crete. Putnam's Sons, New York. $5.25 
Niebuhr, C. The Tell El Amarna Period. David Nutt, London, lsh. 
Petrie, W. Flinders. The Arts and Crafts of Ancient Egypt. Rather 

technical. Excellent illustrations. McClurg, Chicago. $1.75 
Rawlinson, G. The Story of Phosnicia. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

$1.50 
Sayce, A. H. Assyria, Its Princes, Priests and People. Revcll, 

Chicago. $1.20 
Sayce, A. H. The Ancient Empires of the East. Scribner, New York. 

$1.50 
Sayce, A. H. The Hittites. Revell, New York. $1.00 
Schuchardt. Schliemann's Excavations. Macmillan, New York. 

$4.00 
Starr, Fr. Some First Steps in Human Progress. Flood & Vincent, 

Meadville, Pa. $1.00 
Tiele, C. P. Western Asia. Luzac & Co., London. 1 sh. 6d. 
Tolman and Scoggin. Mycencean Troy. American Book Co., New 

York. $1.00 
Tsountas and Manatt. The Mycencean Age. Well illustrated but 

no longer up to date. Houghton Mifflin Co. $6.00 
Wiedeman, A. Popular Literature of Ancient Egypt. David Nutt, 

London. Is. 
*Winckler, Hugo. History of Babylonia and Assyria. An up-to- 
date discussion of their history and civilization. Scribner, New 

York. $1.25 

GREEK HISTORY 

A. Source Material 

iEscHYLUs. Tragedies, translated by Plumptre. D. C. Heath, New 
York. $1.00 

Aristotle. On the Athenian Constitution. Translated by E. G. 
Kenyon, Macmillan, New York. $1.10 

*Church, E. J. The Trial and Death of Socrates. Contains a trans- 
lation of four of the simpler dialogues of Plato. Macmillan, New 
York. $1.00 



526 BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

*Herodotus. Translated by G. C. Macaulay. 2 vols. Macmillan, 
New York. $4.50 

Sophocles. Tragedies, translated by Plumptre. D. C. Heath, New 
York. $1.00 

Thucydides. Translated by Benj. Jowett. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 
$3.75 

Xenophon. Translated by H. G. Dakyns. - Macmillan, New York. 
3 vols. $3.00. Translations of Greek and Latin sources may be 
obtained more cheaply in the Bohn Library, published by Mac- 
millan, New York, or, in certain cases, in the Everyman's Library 
published by Dutton, New York. 

B. Secondary Works 

Abbott, E. Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens. Putnam's Sons, 

New York. $1.50 
Botsford, G. W. A History of the Orient and Greece. A spirited 

treatment of the political and cultural development of the Greeks. 

Macmillan, New York. $1.20 
*Bury, J. B. A History of Greece. Excellent military and political 

history. It ends with the death of Alexander. Macmillan, New 

York. $1.90 
*Capps, E. From Homer to Theocritus. An excellent manual on Greek 

literature, with well selected translations. Scribner, New York. 

$1.50 
Cox, G. W. The Athenian Empire. Epochs Series. Longmans, 

New York. $1.00 
Cox, G. W. The Greeks and the Persians. Longmans, New York. 

$1.00 
Curteis, A. M. Rise of the Macedonian Empire. Longmans, New 

York. $1.00 
Fowler, H. N. History of Ancient Greek Literature. Appleton, 

New York. $1.40 
Gardiner, E. N. Greek Athletic Sports and Festivals. Illustrated. 

Macmillan, New York. $2.50 
Grant, A. J. Greece in the Age of Pericles. Scribner, New York. 

$1.25 
Greenidge, A. H. J. Greek Constitutional History. Quite technical. 

Macmillan, New York. $1.25 
Hammond, B. E. Political Institutions of the Ancient Greeks. Mac- 
millan, New York. $1.25 
Jebb, Richard C. Greek Literature. American Book Co., New 

York. $.35 



BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 527 

*Mahaffy, J. P. Alexander's Empire. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

SI. 50 
Mahaffy, J. P. Old Greek Life. American Book Co., New York. 

$.35 
Mahaffy, J. P. Progress of Hellenism in Alexander's Empire. 

University of Chicago Press, Chicago. $1.00 
Mahaffy, J. P. What have the Greeks done for Modern Civilization? 

Putnam's Sons, New York, 1909. $2.50 
Marquand and Frothingham. Text-book of the History of Sculpture. 

Covers the whole history of sculpture, ancient, mediaeval and 

modern. Well illustrated. Longmans, New York. $1.50 
Oman, C. W. .4 History of Greece. Almost entirely military and 

political. Longmans, New York. $1.50 
Sankey, C. Spartan and Theban Supremacies. Longmans, New 

York. $1.00 
Seymour, Thos. D. Life in the Homeric Age. Macmillan, New 

York. $4.00 
Shuckburgh, E. S. Greece to A. D. 14. Useful for the period after 

Alexander. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.35 
*Wheeler, B. I. Alexander the Great. Putnam's Sons, New York. 

$1.50 

ROMAN HISTORY 

A. Source Material 

*Appian. Roman History. Translated by H. White. Macmillan, 

New York. $3.00 
Horace. Translated by E. C. Wickham, Clarendon Press, Oxford. 

$1.15 
Livy. Translated by Brodribb. Macmillan, New York. $2.00 
Polybius. Translated by E. S. Shuckburgh. Macmillan, New York. 

$6.00 
Tacitus. Translated by A. Murphy. Dutton, New York. $.70 
Vergil's iENEiD. Translated by J. Conington. Burt, New York. 

$1.00 

B. Secondary Works 

Abbot, F. F. Roman Political Institutions. Ginn & Co., Chicago. 

$1.50 
Abbot, F. F. Society and Politics in Ancient Rome. A series of 

attractive popular essays. Scribner, New York. $1.25 
Abbot, F. F. The Common People of Ancient Rome. Scribner, 

New York. $1.50 



528 BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Arnold, W. T. Roman Provincial Administration. In the new edi- 
tion this is still the most serviceable book on this topic. Mac- 
mi Ian, New York. $2.00 

Barker, E. R. Buried Her culaneum. Macmillan, New York. $3.00 

Beesly, A. H. The Gracchi^ Marius and Sulla. Longmans, New 
York. $1.00 

Bury, J. B. Student's Roman Empire. American Book Co., New 
York. $1.50 

*Capes, W. W. Age of the Antoines. Scribner, New York. $1 00 

*Capes, W. W. Early Empire. Scribner, New York. $1.00 

Church, A. J. Roman Life in the Days of Cicero. Macmillan, New 
York. $.50- 

Davidson, J. L. S. Life of Cicero. Putnam, New York. $1.50 

Davis, W. S. Influence of Wealth in Imperial Rome. Well arranged 
for topical studies in economic life. Macmillan, New York. $2.00 

Dennie, John. Rome of To-day and Yesterday. Putnam's Sons, 
New York. $3.50 

Firth, J. B. Augustus Ccesar. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.35 

Fisher, G. P. The Beginnings of Christianity. Scribner, New York. 
$2.50 

Fowler, H. N. History of Roman Literature. Appleton, New 
York. $1.40 

Fowler, W. W. Julius Ccesar. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.00 

Fowler, W. W. Social Life at Rome. Macmillan, New York. $2.25 

Friedlaender, L. Roman Life and Manners under the Early Empire. 
2 vols. Dutton, New York. $3.00 

*Friedlaender, L. Town Life in Ancient Italy. Gives an excellent 
idea of life in a smaller city. Sanborn, Boston. $.40 

Greenidge, A. H. J. A History of Rome. A remarkably able and 
well-written study of the period from the Gracchi to Sulla. Dut- 
ton, New York. $3.50 

Hardy, E. G. Christianity and the Roman Government. Scribner, 
New York. $1.50 

Hill, G. F. Illustrations of School Classics. Covers both Greek 
and Roman antiquities. Very useful. Well illustrated. Mac- 
millan, New York. $2.50 

How, W. W. Hannibal. Seeley & Co., London. 2 sh. 

Inge, W. R. Society in Rome under the Ccesars. Scribner, New 
York. $1.00 

Johnston, H. W. The Private Life of the Romans. Scott Forsman, 
Chicago. $1.50 

Jones, H. S. The Roman Empire. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.50 



BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 529 

Laing, G. J. Masterpieces of Latin Literature. Contains well-chosen 

English translations from the Latin writers. Houghton Mifflin 

Co., Boston. .$1.00 
*Mau-Kelsey. Pompeii, its Life and Art. Macmillan, New York. 

$6.00 
Merivale, Ch. The Roman Triumvirates. Scribner, New York. 

$1.00 
Oman, C. W. Seven Roman Statesmen. Longmans, New York. $1.60 
Pellison, M. Roman Life in Pliny's Time. Jacobs, Philadelphia. 

$1.00 
Platner, S. B. Ancient Rome. Allyn & Bacon, Boston. $3.00 
Seignobos, Ch. History of the Roman People. Henry Holt, New 

York. $1.25 
Shuckburgh, E. S. A History of Rome. Macmillan, New York. 

$1.75 
Smith, R. Bosworth. Carthage and the Carthaginians. Longmans, 

New York. $1.25 
Taylor, T. M. Constitutional and Political History of Rome. Meth- 

ven, London. $2.50 
Tucker, T. G. Life in the Roman World of Nero and St. Paul. Mac- 
millan, New York. $2.50 

EARLY MEDLEVAL HISTORY 

A. Source Material 

Ogg, F. A. A Source Book for Mediceval History. American Book 

Co., New York. $1.50 
Robinson, J. H. Readings in European History. Vol. I. Ginn & 

Co., Boston. $1.50 

B. Secondary Works 

Adams, G. B. Civilization during the Middle Ages. Scribner, New 

York. $2.50 
Bement and Monod. Mediceval Europe. Holt, New York. $1.00 
Bradley, H. Story of the Goths. Putnam, New York. $1.50 
Church, R. W. The Beginning of the Middle Ages. Scribner, New 

York. $1.00 
Cutts, E. L. St. Jerome. Gorham, New York. $.60 
Hodgkin, T. Dynasty of Theodosi us. Clarendon Press, Oxford. $1.50 
Hodgkin, T. Theodoric. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.50 
Kingsley, Ch. Roman and Teuton. Macmillan, New York. $1.25 
Masterman, J. B. H. The Dawn of Mediceval Europe. Macmillan, 

New York. $.90 
34 



530 BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 

Munro and Seller y. Medioeval Civilization. Century, New York. 
$2.00 

Oman, C. W. The Dark Ages. Macmillan, New York. $1.75 

Robinson, J. H. History of Western Europe. Vol. I. Ginn, Bos- 
ton. $1.00 

Sergeant, L. The Franks. Putnam's Sons, New York. $1.50 

III 

ADDITIONAL LIST OF STANDARD BOOKS OF A MORE 

ADVANCED TYPE 

Bevan, E. R. House of Seleucus. A scholarly treatment of the Greco- 
Macedonian rule in Syria after Alexander. Longmans, New 
York. $12.00 

Bury, J. B. History of the Later Roman Empire. 2 vols. Best 
treatment of the eastern portion of the empire from 400 to 800 a. d. 
Macmillan, New York. $6.00 

Dill, S. Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius. Macmillan, 
New York. $2.50 

Dill, S. Roman Society in the Last Century of the Western Empire. 
Macmillan, New York. $1.75 

D'Ooge, M. L. The Acropolis of Athens. Macmillan, New York. 
$4.00 

Duruy, V. History of Rome. 8 vols. Estes and Lauriat, Boston. 
$6.00 each. 

Ferrero, G. The Greatness and Decline of Rome. Brilliant in style, 
but the author's judgment is not always trustworthy. Putnam's 
Sons, New York. $12.50 

Gardiner, E. A. A Handbook of Greek Scidpture. Macmillan, 
New York. $2.50 

Gardner and Jevons. Manual of Greek Antiquities. Contains a 
clear treatment of the Athenian constitution. Scribner, New 
York. $4.00 

Garstang, J. The Land of the Hittites. Dutton, New York. $4.00 

Gibbon, E. Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 6 vols. In 
the Everyman's Library. Call for special library binding. Dut- 
ton, New York. $2.10 

Greenidge, A. H. J. Roman Public Life. Contains a scholarly 
treatment of the constitutional history of the empire. Mac- 
millan, New York. $2.50 

Grote, George. History of Greece. 12 vols. A cheap and service- 
able edition of this great work. Everyman's Library, special 
library binding. Dutton, New York. $4.20 



BOOKS FOR SUPPLEMENTARY READING 531 

Heitland, W. E. The Roman Republic. 3 vols. Putnam's Sons, 

New York. $10.00 
Holm, A. History of Greece. 4 vols. Macmillan, New York. .$10.00 
Jevons, F. B. A History of Greek Literature. Scribner, New York. 

$2.50 
Mahaffy, J. P. Social Life in Greece. Macmillan, New York. $2.50 
Mahaffy, J. P. The Greek World under Roman Sway. Macmillan, 

New York. $1.50 
Mahaffy, J. P. The Empire of the Ptolemies. Macmillan, New 

York. $3.50 
Maspero, G. C. C. The Dawn of Civilization. (Out of print). 
Maspero, G. C. C. The Struggle of the Nations. (Out of print). 
Maspero, G. C. C. The Passing of the Empires. Appleton, New 

York. $7.50 
Mommsen, Th. The Provinces of the Roman Empire. 2 vols. Scrib- 
ner, New York. $6.00 
Olmstead, A. T. Sargon of Assyria. Holt, New York. $1.25 
Petrie, W. M. F. History of Egypt. 3 vols. Scribner, New York. 

$1.75 each. 
Shuckburgh, E. S. Augustus. Unwin, London. 2 sh. 6d. 
Smith, H. P. Old Testament History. Scribner, New York. 



PRONOUNCING VOCABULARY AND INDEX 



The following diacritical marks have been used in indicating 
pronunciations : 

a = a in father, star. 

a = a in Syria. 

e = k. 

ch = k, unless otherwise indicated. 

5=s. 

s = z. 

-L 

u = oo in poor. 

Where the pronunciations are obvious no marks have been given. 
In the case of very difficult words the pronunciation is indicated by a 
simplified spelling. 



Academy, 195. 
A-chse'-a, 118, 142, 220. 
A-cha3'-an League, 219-222. 

conquered by Rome, 319. 
A-chae'-us, 84. 
A-chil'-les, 87-89. 
A-crop'-o-lis, of Athens, 157, 158. 

of Pergamum, 237. 
Ac'-ti-um, Battle of, 382. 
Ad'-a-na, 228. 
Ad-ra-myt'-ti-um, 373. 
iE'-diles, 267, 305 (note), 411. 
iE'-gae, 193. 

iE-ga'-tes Islands, battle of, 288. 
iE-ge'-an Islands, colonization of, 

by the Hellenes, 84. 

become members of the Del- 

ian League, 134,136. 
iE-gl'-na, 142. 
iE'-gi-um, 220. 

./E-gos-pot'-a-ml, battle of, 171. 
iE-ne'-as, 250. 
iE-ne'-id, of Vergil, 392. 
^-o'-li-an, 84, 85, 120, 121. 
.E'-o-lis, 85. 
iE'-o-lus, 84. 



.E'-qui-ans, 268. 
^Eschines (Es'-ki-nez), 195. 
^Eschylus (Es'-ki-lus), 153-156, 

172, 173. 
^E'-sop, 121. 

Aetius (A-e'-shi-us), 468. 
^E-to'-ll-an League, 219, 223. 
Africa, Roman province of, 309, 
440. 

restored to the empire, 475, 476. 
A-ga'-de, 33. 
Ag-a-mem'-non, 87, 155. 
Age, Bronze, 3, 4. 

Hellenistic, 225, 241. 

Iron, 3. 

Ne-o-lith'-ic, 3. 

of Pericles, 145, 162. 

Pal-e-o-lith'-ic, 3, 4. 

Stone, 3. 
Agesilaus (A-jes-i-la'-us), 179, 
181, 183. 

the Younger, 221. 
Agis (A'-jis), 221. 
Ag r -o-ra, 89, 116. 
Agriculture, see Farming. 
A-grfp'-pa, 380, 382. 



533 



534 



INDEX 



Al'-a-ric, 465, 466. 
Al-cae'-us, 121. 

Al-ci-bi'-a-des, 168-171, 185, 186. 
A-le-man'-ni, 456. 
Alexander the Great, change in, 
208, 209. 

boyhood of, 192, 201, 202. 

character of, 202. 

conquests of, 205-207, 209, 
210. 

death of, 210. 

results of his work, 211-213. 
Al-ex-an'-dri-a, as center of trade, 
229-231. 

founded, 213. 

intellectual center, 235, 236. 
Al-ex-an'-drine Age, see Age, Hel- 
lenistic. 
Al'-lah, 492. 
Al-phae'-us, 103. 
A-ly-at'-tes, 69. 
Am'-brose, Bishop, 458. 
A-men-ho'-tep III, 25. 

IV, 27. 
Am'-mon, 15. 
A'-mos, 56. 
Am-phic'-ty-on-i, Philip and the 

Delphic, 192. 
Am-phip'-o-lis, 167. 
Amphitheater, Flavian, see Colos- 
seum. 
A-mu'-li-us, 250. 
A-nab'-a-sis, of Alexander, 201. 

of Cyrus, 178. 

of Xenophon, 196. 
An-ax-ag'-o-ras, 122, 163, 164. 
An-chl'-ses, 392. 
An-dro-nl'-cus, 323. 
Angles (Ang'-glz), 488. 
An-tal'-ci-das, peace of, 180. 
An-tig'-o-ne, 156, 157. 
An-tig'-o-nus I, 216. 

Go-na'-tas, 216, 217, 219. 
Ant'-l-och, 231. 

center of trade, 428. 

church center, 458. 



An-tl'-o-chis, 150. 
An-ti'-o-chus III, the Great, 223, 
314, 315. 

IV, 226. 
Antrum (An'-shi-um), 375. 
Antonine emperors, 422-428. 
An-to-nl'-nus Pi-us, 426. 
An-to'-ni-us, Marcus, 365, 379- 

382. 
Antony, see Antonius. 
A-pel'-la, 116. 
Aph-ro-di'-te, 197, 326. 
A-pol'-lo, 82, 88, 92, 104, 130-132, 

155, 197. 
Ap-ol-lo'-ni-a, 380. 
Ap-ol-lo'-ni-us, 373. 
Appian Way, 274, 428. 
Ap'-pi-us Claud'-i-us, 274. 
A-pu'-li-a, 298. 

A'-quse Sex'-ti-a3, battle of, 343. 
A-qui-lei'-a (-le'-ya), 429. 
A-ra'-bi-a, 211. 

Roman province of, 424, 425. 
A-ra'-tus, 220-222. 
Ar-be'-la, battle of, 206. 
Ar-ca'-di-us, emperor, 465, 466. 
Ar-ces'-i-las, 97. 
Ar-chi-me'-des, 235. 
Architecture, Assyrian, 66. 

Babylonian, 38. 

Egyptian, 18,19. 

Greco-Roman, 410, 411. 

Greek, 157-161. 

Greek in the Hellenistic king- 
doms, 225. 

in Rome, 431. 

Mycenaean, 46. 
Ar'-chon, 105, 140, 151, 187. 
A'-re§, 98. 
Ar'-go, 98. 

Ar'-go-nauts, 98, 172. 
Ar'-gos, 118, 120, 142, 180, 222. 
A-ri-ad'-ne, 45. 
A-rim'-i-num, 292, 429. 
A-ri-o-vis'-tus, 363. 
Ar-is-tar'-chus, 234. 



INDEX 



535 



Ar-is-ti'-deg, 128, 135. 
Ar-is-toph'-a-ne§, 168, 186. 
Ar'-is-to-tle, 194, 195, 202, 233. 
A'-ri-us, 454, 457. 
Ar-me'-nl-a, 179. 

Roman province of, 423. 
Armor, Greek, 125, 204, 205. 

Roman, 294, 295. 
Army, of Alexander, 204, 205. 

Car-tha-gin'-i-an, 283. 

Greek, of Athens, 125. 
of Sparta, 114, 115. 
of Thebes, 183. 

Persian, 204. 

Roman, 283, 293-295. 
under Augustus, 385. 
Germans in, 465, 468. 
Ar-pi'-num, 356. 
Ar'-rf-an, 201, 205. 
Art, Cretan, 47, 48. 

Egyptian, 14. 

Greek, 157-163, 196, 197. 

Late Greek, 238. 

Roman, in Pompeii, 414. 
Ar-ta-xer'-xe§, 178, 180. 
Ar'-te-mis, 113. 
As'-eal-on, 228. 
As'-eQ-lum, 278. 
Ash'-ur, 60. 
Ash-ur-ban'-i-pal, 63. 
Asia, Roman province of, 309, 320. 
Asia Minor, becomes a Roman 
province, 320. 

conquered by Alexander, 205. 

Cretan civilization in, 43. 

Greek cities of, in Delian 
League, 134. 

Greek colonization of, 85, 86. 

Hittite civilization in, 40, 41. 

invasion of , by Agesilaus, 179. 

Ionian civilization in, 120- 
122. 

Lydian kingdom in, 70, 71. 

revolt of, against Rome, 347- 
349. 
As-pa-si-a (As-pa'-shi-a), 163, 164. 



Assembly, Greek, 

decree of Athenian, 137, 150, 

151. 
in Athens, 105, 107-109, 

149-151. 
in Homeric Age, 89. 
in Sparta, 116. 
of the Achaean League, 220. 
Roman, 
Centuriate, 259. 

elections in, 305 (note) 
meeting of, 306, 307. 
organization of, 304. 
Curial, 259. 
decay of the, 384. 
Tribal, 264, 265, 304. 
duties of, 305. 
elections in, 305 (note). 
As-syr'-i-a, 60-67, 132. 
Ath-an-a'-si-ans, 457. 
Ath-an-a'-si-us, 454. 
A-the'-na, 82, 160, 162. 
Athens, and the Delian League, 
134-144. 
beauty of, 157-161. 
captured by Sparta, 171. 
citizenship and population of, 

147-149. 
culture of, in Periclean age, 

153-164. 
Darius' expedition against, 

124-127. 
democratic government of, 140, 

141, 149-151. 
drama in, 153-157. 
early development, 105, 106. 
empire of, 143, 181. 
end of monarchy in, 105. 
fleet of, 128. 
leads the struggle against 

Philip, 191, 192. 
trade of, 145-147. 
reforms of Clisthenes, 108, 109. 
Solon's reforms in, 106, 107. 
tyranny of Pisistratus, 107, 108. 
war with Sparta, 165-172. 



536 



INDEX 



Ath'-mo-non, 187. 
Ath'-os, Mount, 129. 
Atrium, 414. 
At'-tal-ids, 237. 
At'-ta-lus, 217. 
At'-tl-ca, 101. 
At'-ti-la, 467. 
Au-gus'-ti, 445, 446. 
Au'-gus-tine, Saint, 489. 
Au-gus'-tus, death of, 389. 

founds Roman empire, 382. 

powers taken by, 382, 383. 
Au'-lus Pos-tu'-mi-us, 261. 
Au-re'-li-us, Marcus, 426-428, 

435. 
Aus-tra'-sia (-she-a), 485. 
A-ven'-ti-cum, 429. 
Av'-en-tine, 251. 

Bfi'-al, 55. 
Babylon, 34. 

conquered by Tiglath-Pileser, 
63. 

description of, 70. 

industry and trade, 36, 37. 

new empire of, 69, 70. 

social and intellectual life, 
37-40. 

taken by Alexander, 207. 
Bab-y-l5'-ni-a, 31-33. 
Bac'-chus, rites of in Italy, 327 
Bac'-tri-a, 207. 
Bal'-kan Peninsula, 81. 
Bal-lis'-ta, 175. 
Banking, Greek, 231. 
Basileus (Ba-si-lQs'), 82. 
Bel-i-sa'-ri-us, 475. 476. 
Ben-e-ven'-tum, 2 IS, 278. 
Ber-oe'-a, 228. 
Bes'-sus, 207. 

Bishop of Rome, 459, 486, 487. 
Bi-thvn'-i-a, 301. 
Black Sea, 94, 96-98, 120, 140, 

179, 200. 
Blood Feud, 83, 106. 
Fines, 83. 



Bce-o'-tia (Be-o'-shia), democra- 
tic development in, 109. 
in Athenian empire, 142. 
unity of under Thebes, 181, 
1S2. 
Bo-e'-thi-us, 472. 
Bon'-i-face, Saint, 489, 490, 495. 
Books, Roman, 397. 
Bos'-pho-rus, 97. 

Boule (boo-la/), decrees of the 
Athenian, 137, 150, 151, 187, 

188. 
election of members of, by 

lot, 140. 
of the Achaean League, 221. 
organization of, at Athens, 
149, 150. 
Boundaries of the Roman empire, 

444. 
Bras'-i-das, 167. 
Britain, 364. 

Germanic conquest of, 488. 
conversion of, 4S8. 
Brotherhood, 82, 148 
Brun-dis'-i-um, 429. 
Brut'-ti-ans, 276. 
Brutus, 381. 
Bu-ceph'-a-lus, 201. 
Bur'-rus, 402. 
Byzantium, 429. 

change to Constantinople, 

453, 454. 
important position of, 97. 

CaVre, 271. 
Caesar, 202. 

assassination of, 371. 
conquest of Gaul, 363, 364. 
defeats Pompey, 36S, 369. 
forms the first triumvirate, 

462. 
Gaius Julius, personal char- 
acteristics, 356. 
genius of, 371, 372. 
reorganizes the state, 369- 
371. 



INDEX 



537 



Cae-sa-re'-a Augusta, 227. 
Caesars, 445, 446. 
Ca-leg, 274. 
Ca-lig'-u'la, 400. 
Cal-lib'-i-us, 1S7. 
Cal-lis'-tus, 402. 
Cam-by'-se§, 30, 71. 
Cam-il'-lus, 270. 
Cam-pii'-ni-a, 272. 
Cam '-pus Mar-ti-us, 306. 
Ca'-naan-Ites, 53. 
Cannae (Kan'-e), battle of, 297. 
Cap'-i-tal, 159, 160. 
Cap'-it-o-line, 257. 
Cap-i-to'-li-um, 269. 
Cap-pa-do'-cia 'Kap-a-do'-shi-a), 

171. 
Car-a-cal'-la, 438, 439. 
Car'-che-mish, 62. 
Ca'-ri-an§, 85. 
Car-nun'-tum, 429. 
Carolingians (Kar-o-lin'-ji-anz), 

495-497. 
Carthage, a Phoenician colony, 54. 

destroyed by Rome, 319, 320. 

founds an empire in Spain, 
289, 290, 292. 

mercenary war of, 288, 289. 

military strength of, 283. 

wars of, against Rome, 280-288. 

wars with Dionysius of Syr- 
acuse, 174-177. 

wars with Greeks in Sicily, 
99, 129, 131, 218, 222, 279, 
280. 
Cas-san'-der, 216. 
Cassius, 381. 

Spurius, 268. 
Cat'-a-pult, 175, 217. 
Cat'-i-llne, 361. 
Ca'-to, Mar'-cus Por'-ci-us, 319. 

his book on agriculture, 333 
(note). 

opposes Greek influence, 329. 

the Younger, 369. 
Ca-tul'-lus, 374. 



Cau'-dine Forks, battle of, 273. 
Celts (selts or kelts), 79, 201,217, 

218, 246, 269, 291. 
Qen'-sor, 266, 305. 
Ce-phis'-o-phon, 187. 
Qe'-res, 256. 

ChaBronea (Ker-o-ne'-a), 192, 199. 
Chal-cid'-I-ce, 96, 181, 190. 
Chal'-cis, 95, 96, 109, 150. 
Chalons (Sha-lon'), battle of, 468. 
Champollion (Shon'-pol-yon') 9, 

227. 
Cha-rl'-nus, 187. 
Charlemagne (Shar'-le-man), 480, 

495-497. 
Cheops (Ke'-ops), 18. 
Chersonesus (Ker-so-ne'-sus), 96. 
Chi'-lo, 329. 
Chios (Kl'-os), 85, 187. 
Chi&'-mys, 225. 
Christ, birth of, 400, 401, 415. 

importance of, 416. 
Christian Apologists, 449. 
Christianity, 212. 

condemned by the Roman 

state, 432-434. 
development in third century, 

447, 448. 
early spread of, 416-419. 
favored by Constantine, 450, 

451. 
morality of, 419, 420. 
origin of, 415. 
reaction against, under Julian, 

456. 
reasons for spreading of, 418. 
spread of, in Germany, 487, 
489, 490. 

in Britain, 488, 489. 
Church, Councils of, 455. 

organization of, 458, 459. 
gic'-e-ro, 356, 361, 362. 

as an orator and author, 374, 

375. 
career as a student, 373. 
consulship of, 361. 



538 



INDEX 



Cilicia (Si-lish'-i-a), 205. 
Cim-bri, 343. 
Ci'-mon, 139. 
Cit'-i-um, 228. 

Citizenship, Greek, of Athens, 
147-149. 
in Sparta, 112. 

Roman, extension of, under 
Caracalla, 439. 
City-State, 9, 10, 101, 109. 
Civil war, between Pompey and 
Caesar, 387, 368. 

between Sulla and Marius, 
349-351. 

of 44-43 b. c, 380. 

of 68-69 a. d., 403. 
Clans, Roman, 261. 
Classes, see Social Classes. 
Clau'-di-an Emperors, 400-403. 
Clau'-di-us, emperor, 401. 

Pub'-li-us, general in First 
Punic War, 326. 
Cla-zom'-e-nae, 180. 
Cle-om'-bro-tus, 183. 
Cle-om'-e-ne§, 222. 
Cle'-on, 167. 

Cle-o-pa'-tra, 224, 368, 381. 
Clients, 260. 

Clis'-the-ne§, 108, 109, 140. 
Cli'-tus, 209. 
Clo'-a-ca Max'-i'ma, 253. 
Clo'-vis, 471, 482-484. 
Cly-tem-es'-tra, 155. 
Cnl'-dus, 180. 
Cnos'-sus, 45. 
Code, of Draco, 106. 

of Hammurabi, 35, 36. 

of Justinian, 477, 478. 

of Roman law (beginnings of), 
425, 426. 
Coinage, Lydian, 69, 70. 

Roman, 281, 282, 442. 
See also illustrations of 
coins. 
Colchis (Kol'-kis), 98. 
Col'-ly-tus, 147. 



Co-lo'-nl, degrading of, 443. 
Germans used as, 462, 463. 
origin of, 360. 
payments of, 406, 428. 
Colonia A-grip-pi'-na, 429, 482. 
Colonization, Carthaginian in 
Spain, 289. 
Greek, causes and methods of, 
93, 94. 
cessation of, 200, 201. 
of the North and Black 

Sea, 96-98. 
of the western Mediter- 
ranean, 95, 96. 
renewal of, after Alexander, 

213, 225, 226. 
results of, 98, 99. 
Phoenician, 52, 53. 
Roman, in Italy, 274. 
outside of Italy, 338, 370. 
Colosseum, 408. 
Columns, Greek, 159, 160. 
Comedy, Greek, 186, 239, 240. 

Roman, 323—325. 
Co-mit'-ia Cur-i-a'-ta, see Assem- 
bly, Curial. 
Companions, 189, 205, 206. 
Conductor, 406. 
Congress at the Isthmus, 129, 

130, 135, 19?, 193. 
Co'-non, 180. 
Con'-stan-tine the Great, 440, 

451-455. 
Con-stan-ti-nop'-le, see also By- 
zantium, 97. 
becomes capital of Roman 

empire, 452, 453. 
building of, by Constantine, 

454. 
life in, 478. 

strength and fortification of, 
474, 475. 
Con-stan'-ti-us I, 445, 446. 

II, 456. 
Constitution of Athens, 195. 
Con'-sul, 254, 267. 



INDEX 



539 



Con'-sul, duties of, 263, 305. 
Coptus, 428. 

Corinth, colonies and trade of, 
95, 96, 120. 

destroyed by Rome 319. 

jealousy toward Athens, 137, 
142, 166, 171, 172. 

joins revolt against Sparta, 
180. 
Cor-ne'-li-a, 334. 
Corpus Juris, 478. 
Cor'-vus, 285. 
C6s, 85. 

Council, see Boule. 
Courts, see Judicial System. 
Cras'-sus, Mar'-cus, 350, 355, 357, 

362, 363. 
Cre'-on, 156. 
Cre'-tans, 42, 44-49. 
Crete, 79, 83-85, 87, 90, 93. 
Cri-ml'-sus River, 176. 
Crce'-sus, 69, 71, 92, 122, 123. 
Cro'-ton, 95, 276. 
Cu-ne'-i-form writing, 32, 33. 
Cur'-i-ae, 258. 

Cu'-rule magistrates, 303 (note). 
Cy'-me, 95, 98, 268. 
Cy-nos-ceph'-a-lse, 223, 315. 
Cyp'-ri-an, 449. 
Cy'-prus, 146, 180. 
Cy-re'-bus, 147. 
Cy-re'-ne, 96, 97. 
Cy'-rus, the Great, 70, 71, 122, 
123. 

the Younger, 171, 178, 179. 

Dacia, conquest of, 423. 
Dag'-o-bert, 484. 
Dam-as'-cus, 61. 
Da-ri'-us the Great, 71, 123-127. 

the Lesser, 204-207. 
David, 54. 

De-cem'-vir-ate, 266. 
De'-ci-us, 448, 449. 



De'-li-an League, Athens a mem- 
ber of, 108. 
becomes an Athenian empire, 

136, 137, 143. 
in the Peloponnesian war, 

165, 171. 
organization of, 135, 136. 
De'-los, 108, 134, 143. 
Del'-phi, Crcesus sends gifts to, 
122. 
games at, 104. 
opposes fighting Persia, 130. 
oracle at, 92, 94. 
Deme, 148. 
De'-me-as, 147. 
De-me'-trf-us, 216, 217. 
Democracy, differences between 
modern and ancient, 149. 
founded by Solon, 106, 107. 
re-organized by Clisthenes^ 

108, 109. 
general throughout Greece, 
109. 
De-mos'-the-ne§, 190, 192, 195, 

200. 
Deportations, 64, 65. 
Dl'-a-logues of Pla'-to, 193. 
Di'-cast, 151. 
Diocese, 446, 459. 
Di-o-cle'-ti-an (-shian), 445, 446. 
Di-o-do'-rus, 187, 252. 
Di-og-ne'-tus, 150. 
Dl-o-nys'-I-us, historian, 252. 

I, tyrant of Syracuse, 174- 
176, 272, 280. 

II, 176. 
Dl-o-ny'-sus, 153, 197. 

theater of, at Athens, 211, 212. 
Discus Thrower, 162. 
Domains of the Emperors, 406. 
Domitian, 408. 
Do'-ri-an, colonies, 96, 97. 

migration, 84, 85. 

Sparta, a Dorian state, 111, 

tribal division, 84. 
Doric column, 160. 



540 



INDEX 



Do'-ris, 85. 
Do'-rus, 84. 
Dra'-co, 106. 
Dra-con'-ti-de§, 150. 
Drama, see Tragedy. 
Drep'-a-num, 326. 
Dru'-sus, Liv'-i-us, 345. 
DQ-il'-i-us, 286. 
Du-um'-vir§, 411. 
Dy'-me, 220. 
Dyr-ra'-chi-um, 429. 

Ec-bat'-a-na, 207. 

Ec-cle'-si-a, see Assembly, Greek. 

Edict, of Galerius, 452. 

of Milan, 452. 
Education, by the Sophists, 167. 

Greek slaves as teachers, 325. 

of Cicero, 378. 

Socrates as a teacher, 185. 

Spartan, 113, 114. 
Eg-na'-ti-an Road, 429. 
Egypt, Antony in, 381. 

civilization of, 11-20. 

conquest by Alexander, 203. 

conquest by Cambyses, 73. 

country and people, 7, 8. 

decline of, 29, 30. 

empire of, 21-29. 

periods of history, 11. 

Ptolemaic kingdom of, 216, 
219, 222, 223. 

taken by Augustus, 383. 
El-a-gab'-a-lus, 439. 
E'-lis, 92, 103. 
E-mo'-na, 429. 
Empire, Alexander's, 205-213. 

Assyrian, 65. 

Athenian, 136-143 

Babylonian, 67. 

Byzantine, 500. 

Carthaginian, 279, 289. 

Charlemagne's, 496, 497. 

Egyptian, 23-30. 

Mohammedan, 500. 

Persian, 71-73. 



Empire, Roman, 382. 

borders of the, 388. 

decline in third century, 
441-444. 

division of, 455. 

division of the ruling power 
of, 446. 

in 525 a. d., 474, 475. 

later history in the East, 479, 
480. 

preserved in the church, 460. 

prosperity of, 430, 431. 

restoration of, by Aurelian, 
444, 445. 
En-tab'-la-ture, 160. 
E-pam-I-non'-das, 182-185, 221. 
Eph'-e-sus, 85, 109, 120, 122. 
Eph'-ors, 116, 117, 222. 
Epic, Babylonian, 39. 

Greek, 87-89, 91. 

Roman, 392, 393. 
Epicurus (Ep-l-ku'-rus), 240, 374. 
Ep-i-dam'-nus, 291. 
Ep-K-dau'-rus, 197, 220. 
E-pi'-rus, 85, 177, 202, 218. 
Er-a-tos'-the-ne§, 234. 
E-re'-tri-a, 96, 109, 120. 
Er'-y-thrse, 136, 137. 
E-sar-had'-don, 63. 
Estates, Roman, growth under 
the Empire, 360, 405, 443. 

organization of, under the 
Flavians, 406. 
E-trus'-cans, 201 , 246, 255, 258, 269 . 
Eu-bce'-a, colonization from, 95- 
97. 

decline of monarchies in, 109. 

revolts from Athens, 143. 

joins alliance against Philip, 
192. 
Eu'-clid, 235. 
Eu-he'-mer-us, 326. 
Eu-men'-i-des-s, 155. 
Eu-phra'-te§, 210. 
Eu-rip'-i-de§, 153, 172, 173, 189, 
209. 



INDEX 



541 



Eu-ro'-tas, 111, 113. 
Excavations, at Rome, 252. 

Cretan-Mycenaean, 45, 46. 

Hittite, 42. 

in Babylonia, 31. 

Farming, see also Coloni. 

around Ancient Rome, 255. 

Babylonian, 36. 

Gods of, in Italy, 256, 257. 

land monopoly in Italy, 331. 

ruin of, in Italy, 331, 332. 
Fayum (fi-6m), 22. 
Fir-mus, A. Vet'-ti-us, 413. 
Fis'-eGs, absorbs Senatorial treas- 
ury, 438. 

established by Augustus, 385. 

rental from emperors' do- 
mains, 405. 
Flaminian-iEmilian Road, 429. 
Flam-i-nl'-nus, Gaius, 223, 292, 

297, 323. 
Flavian Amphitheater, see Colos- 
seum. 

emperors, 404-408. 
Flo'-ra, 256. 
For'-mi-ae, 375. 
Forum, of Pompeii, 410. 

of Rome, 431. 
Franks, 482-490. 
Freedmen, under Claudius, 401. 
Fre-gel'lae, 274. 
Fu'-rie§, 155. 

Ga-bin'-i-an Law, 358, 359. 
Ga-bin'-i-us, 358. 
Ga'-de§, 50, 429. 
Gaiseric (Gi'-zer-ic), 467. 
Gaius (Ga'-yus), 477. 
Gal-e'-ri-us, 445, 446. 

edict of, 452. 
Gauls (galz), see Celts, 201, 218. 

citizenship granted to, 401. 

conquered by Caesar, 363, 
364. 

conquered by Rome, 291, 292. 



Gauls invade Italy, 269, 270. 
join Hannibal, 297. 
join the Samnites, 275. 
Ge-dro'-si-an Desert, 210. 
Ge'-lo, 131. 
Gens, 261. 

Geography, Greek knowledge of, 
233, 234. 
map of Eratosthenes, 234. 
of Assyria, 62. 
of Babylonia, 31. 
of Egypt, 7, 8. 
of Greece, 80, 81. 
of Italy, 247, 248. 
of Latium, 249. 
of Phoenicia, 51, 52. 
Germans, 201, 246. 

conversion of, 489, 490. 
description of, 462. 
driven back by Caesar, 363. 
early invasion of Italy, 343. 
increasing importance of, 468. 
leaders of Roman affairs, 469. 
Ge-rou'-si-a, 116, 221. 
Gil'-ga-mesh, 39. 
Gladiatorial Shows, 376, 377. 
Goat-Rivers, battle of, 171. 
Golden House of Nero, 403. 
Go-na'-tas, An-tig'-o-nus, 216. 
Government, Assyrian, 67, 68. 
Egyptian, 11, 12, 24. 
Frankish, 483-485. 
Greek, democracy of Athens, 
106-109, 140, 141, 147-151. 
early monarchy, 105, 109. 
Homeric, 89. 
of Sparta, 115-117, 222. 
of the leagues, 220, 221. 
tribal, 83. 
Macedonian, 189. 
Ostrogothic, in Italy, 470, 471. 
Persian, 74, 75. 
Roman empire, established by 
Augustus, 382-386, 398. 
Hadrian's management of, 
425. 



542 



INDEX 



Government, Roman empire, re- 
forms of Diocletian, 445, 
446. 
reforms of Vespasian, 404- 

407. 
tends toward absolutism, 
423, 438, 443. 
Roman kingship, 258, 259. 
Roman republic, early form 
of, 263-268. 
reforms of Caesar, 370, 371. 
reforms of Drusus, 344, 345. 
reforms of the Gracchi, 338, 

339. 
reforms of Sulla, 351, 352. 
the assemblies, 304-306. 
the Senate, 303, 304. 
weaknesses of, 310, 311. 
Governors, Assyrian, 67. 

Roman, appointment of, by 
Caesar, 370. 
dishonesty of, 311, 312. 
duties and powers of, 310. 
of the imperial provinces, 

384. 
of the senatorial provinces, 
385. 
Grac'-chi, results of their work, 

338, 339. 
Grac'-chus, Gaius (Ga'-yus), 335- 
338. 
Ti-be'-ri-us Sem-pro'-ni-us, 
333-335. 
Gra-ni'-cus River, battle of, 205, 

209. 
Greece, conquered by Rome, 222- 
224. 
economic situation in, 199- 

201. 
geography and climate of, 

79-81. 
influence upon Rome, 322-329 . 
invasion of, by Celts, 217. 
invasion by Persians, 121-133. 
opposition to Greek influence 
at Rome, 329. 



Greece settled by the Hellenes, 79. 
Gregory the Great, 487-489. 
Gy-lip'-pus, 169, 170. 

Ha'-dri-an, 425, 435. 
Had-ri-an-o'-ple, battle of, 456, 

464, 465. 
Hal-i-car-nas'-sus, 252. * 

Ha'-lys River, 42, 217. 
Ha-mil'-car, Bar'-cas, 287. 

in Spain, 289. 
Ham-mu-ra'-bi, 34. 

Code of, 35, 36. 
Han'-ni-bal, boyhood of, 289, 290. 

character of, 293. 

death of, 301. 

in second Punic war, 295-300. 

in Spain, 289. 
Har'-most, 177, 179, 184. 
Has'-dru-bal, 292, 299. 
Hat-shep'-set, 26. 
He'-brews, 53-58. 
Hec'-tor, 87, 88. 
Hegira (He-ji'-ra), 492. 
Hel'-en, 87. 
Hel'-las, see Greece. 
Hel'-len, 84. 

Hel'-lenes, name explained, 79. 
Hel-len'-ic History, 196. 

Treasurers, 135, 136. 
Hellenism, at Rome, 322-329. 

in Asia, 225. 

in Egypt, 226. 

in Palestine, 226. 
Hel-len-is'-tic Period, 215. 
Hel'-len-Tz-ing of the east, results 

of, 212, 213, 217. 
Hel'-les-pont, 108, 123, 203, 217. 
He'-lots, 111, 112. 
Her-a-cle'-a, 218, 278. 
Her-a-cli'-tus, 122. 
Her-cu-la'-ne-um, 406, 409. 
Her'-mes, 82, 197. 
Her'-mus, 85. 

He-rod'-o-tus, 18, 68, 123, 125, 
127, 163. 



INDEX 



543 



Hes'-ti-a, 82. 
H&z-e-ki'-ah, 63. 
Hi-e-rap'-o-lis, 228. 
Hi'-e-ro, 268. 
Hi'-er-o-glyph, 8, 9, 227. 
Highways, of the Roman empire, 

428, 429. 
Hl'-lar-us, Q. De'-ci-us, 413. 
Him'-e-ra, 131, 174. 
Hippodrome, 479. 
Hip-po-thon'-tis, 187. 
Historians, Ancient, Greek, 166, 
195, 196, 201, 252, 283, 435. 

Roman, 252, 293, 396,434. 
Hit'-tites, 28, 29, 42, 43. 
Ho'-mer, 88, 92, 102, 115, 116, 

167, 189. 
Ho-no'-ri-us, 465, 466. 
Hop'-lites, 115, 125, 127, 128, 169, 

170. 
Hor'-ace, 394-396. 
Hor-ten'-si-an Law, 264. 268. 
Hor-ten'-si-us, Quin'-tus, 265. 
Ho'-rus, 15. 
House, Egyptian, 12, 13. 

Golden of Nero, 403. 

Pompeian, 414. 
Huns, 463, 467. 
Hy-das'-pe§ River, 209. 
Hyk'-sos, 23. 
Hy-po-stra-te'-gus, 221. 
Hyr-ca'-ni-a, 207. 

I-be'-ri-a, 246. 

I-co'-ni-um, 228. 

Ideal State of Pla'-to, 194. 

Ikh-na'-ton, 27. 

II, 492. 

Il'-i-ad, 85, 87-91, 120, 236. 

U-lyr'-i-a, 222. 

Im'-bros, 180. 

Im-per-a'-tor, 383. 

India, Alexander in, 209, 210. 

Greek trade with, 231. 

routes to, 230. 

Roman trade with, 430. 



Indo-European languages, 79, 80. 
In'-dus River, 124, 204, 207, 

210. 
Industry, see also Trade. 
Athenian, 146, 147. 
effects of Alexander's con- 
quests on, 228, 229. 
Egyptian, 13. 
Greeks, 199, 200. 
in Alexandria, 221. 
in Pompeii, 411, 412. 
Roman, 397. 
In'ter-am'na, 274. 
I'-on, 84. 
I-o'-ni-a, 84, 85, 120, 122, 124, 

134, 137, 153, 188, 196. 
I-o'-ni-an Philosophy, 121, 122. 
Ip'-sus, 216, 217. 
I-ren-ae'-us, Au-re'-li-us Sep-tim'- 

i-us, 227. 
I'-sis, 15, 433. 

worship of, at Rome, 327. 
I-soc'-ra-tes, 191, 192, 203. 
Is/-ra-el, 53, 54. 
Is'-sus, battle of, 205. 
Isth'-mi-an Games, 223. 
I-tal'-ian§, revolt against Rome, 
345. 
tribes of, 201, 248, 249. 
Italy, colonized by the Greeks, 95. 
conquered by Rome, 268, 

269, 273-278. 
economic condition of, 331- 

333. 
Etruscans in, 246, 247, 269, 

271. 
geography and climate, 247, 

248. 
German invasions of, 343, 

461, 466, 469, 495. 
invaded by the Gauls, 269-271 . 
invaded by Hannibal, 293- 

300. 
invaded by the Huns, 468. 
Ostrogothic kingdom in, 469- 
473. 



544 



INDEX 



Italy, part of Charlemagne's em- 
pire, 496, 497. 
Ith'-a-ca, 88. 
I'-u-lus, 392. 

Ja'-besh, 54. 
Ja-nic'-u-line Hill, 265. 
Janua (Yan'-u-a), 256. 
Ja-nus, 256. 
Ja'-son, 97, 98, 172. 
Je-ho'-vah, 53, 56, 226. 
Jerusalem, besieged by Sennach- 
erib, 65. 

Hebrew capital, 56. 

worship of Jehovah at, 58. 
Jesus, see Christ. 
Jo-si'-ah, 57, 58. 
Jove, 257. 

Jii'-dah, 54, 57, 58, 65. 
Judicial System, Athenian, 105, 
107. 

reforms under the republic, 
337, 345, 352. 

Roman, 312, 328. 
Ju-gur'-tha, 341, 342. 
Julia, daughter of Augustus, 400. 

Domna, 439. 

Mse'-sa, 439. 

Mam-mae'-a, 439. 
Julian, 456. 

Law, of 90 b. c, 346. 
Ju-li-a'-nus, Sal'-vi-us, 426. 
Jii'-no, 326. 
Ju'-pit-er, 257. 
Jus-tin'-i-an, 475-481. 

code of, 477, 478. 

closes Athens' universities, 
195. 
Ju'-tes. 488. 

Ka, 17. 

Kar'-nak, 26. 

Khadija (Ka-de'-ja), 492. 

Kha'-fre, 18. 

Khekure (Kck-yu-ra') 21. 

Khe'-ta, 28, 42, 43. 



Khe-ta-sar', 43. 

Khu-fu (Koo'-foo),18. 

King Ar'-chon, 105. 

King CEdipus (ed'-i-pus), 157. 

King's Peace, 180, 182. 

Kingship, end of Grecian, 103, 109. 

Egyptian, 11, 12. 

Homeric, 89. 

Macedonian, 189. 

Roman, 258. 

Spartan, 115. 
Ko-ran', 493. 

Lac-e-dae'-mon, see Sparta. 
La-eo'-ni-a, see Sparta. 
Languages, Babylonian, 33. 
Egyptian, 8. 
Greek, 79, 227, 243. 
Indo-european, 79. 
Persian, 72. 
Semitic, 8, 133. 
La-o-di-ce'-a, Me-trop'-o-lis, 227. 
Lat'-ins, 249. 

in league with Rome, 268. 
received full Roman citi- 
zenship, 346. 
Latium (La'-shi-um), 249. 
Law, Roman, 266, 267, 312. 

Code of Justinian, 477, 478. 
development under the em- 
pire, 446, 447. 
under Hadrian, 425. 
Laws, Greek, of debt, 105. 
of Clisthenes, 108, 109. 
of Draco, 106. 
of Hammurabi, 35, 36. 
of Moses, 55. 
of Solon, 107, 108. 
Roman, Gabinian, 358, 359. 
Hortensian, 264, 265. 
Julian, 346. 

Lucinian-Sextian, 307, 308. 
Manilian, 358, 359. 
of Augustus on luxury, 387. 
of Caesar, 369, 370. 
of the Gracchi, 334-338. 



INDEX 



545 



Laws, Roman, of Sulla, 351, 352. 
of the Twelve Tables, 266, 

426. 
regarding the Christians, 

432, 452. 
regarding the Coloni, 406. 
suppressing paganism, 457, 
458. 
League, A-chae'-an, 219-222. 
^-to'-li-an, 219, 223. 
De'-li-an, 108, 134-136, 142, 

177. 
Latin, 268. 

Pel-o-pon-nes'-i-an, 118, 137, 
142, 143, 165, 166, 170. 
Lem'-nos, 180. 
Leo the Great, 468, 486, 487. 
Lep'-i-dus, 380, 383. 
Les'-bos, 85. 
Leu'-cas, 228. 
Leuc'-tra, battle of, 183. 
Libation Bearers, 155. 
Libraries, at Alexandria, 235, 236. 
at Pergamum, 237. 
at Rome, 397, 398. 
of Ashurbanipal, 63, 64. 
Li-cin'-i-an Sex'-ti-an Laws, 267. 
Li-cin'-i-us, a tribune, 267. 

Roman emperor, 446, 452. 
Lil-y-bae'-um, 428. 
Literature, Babylonian, 39, 65. 
Christian, 449. 
Greek, epic, 87-91. 

drama, 153-157, 172, 173, 

323. 
of the fourth century B.C., 

193-196. 
of the second century a. d., 
434, 435. 
Hellenistic Greek, 239-241. 
Latin, 322-324. 

in Caesar's time, 373-375. 
of the Augustan era, 391- 

397. 
of the second century a. d., 
434. 
35 



Li'-vi-a, wife of Augustus, 439. 
Livy, 283, 396. 
Lo'-cri, 276. 
Lo'-cris, 142. 

Lom'-bards, 480, 495, 496. 
Long Walls, of Ath'-ens, 139, 171, 

180. 
Lu-ea'-ni-ans, 276. 
Lu-ce'-ri-a, 274. 
Lu-cre'-ti-us, 373, 374. 
Lug-du'-num, 429, 434. 
Lux'-or, 26. 
Ly-ce'-um, 195. 
Ly-cur'-gus, the Athenian, 211. 

the Spartan, 112, 113, 117, 
222. • 
Lyd'-i-a, coinage of, 71, 72. 

contact of, with the Greeks, 
120. 

kingdom of, 70, 71. 
Ly-san'-der, 171, 177, 178. 
Lys'-i-as, 199. 

Mac'-ca-bee§, 226. 
Macedon, conquered by Rome, 
222, 223, 315, 316. 
conquest of Greece by, 190- 

193. 
country and people of, 188, 

189. 
kingdom of, after Alexander, 

219. 
Roman Province of, 309. 
united by Philip, 189, 190. 
wars with Leagues, 187, 222. 
Macedonian Army, 184, 204. 
Ma3-ce'-nas, 380, 391, 394, 405. 
Ma'-go, 292, 299. 
Mag'-na Grsecia (Gre'-sM-a), 95, 

281. 
Magnesia (Mag-ne'-shl-a), 85. 

battle of, 223. 
Major Domus, 485. 
Mam' er-tines, 282. 
Ma-nas'-seh, 56. 
Man-e'-tho, 11. 



546 



INDEX 



Ma-nil'-i-an Law, 359. 

Ma-nil'-i us, 358. 

Man'-I-ples, 294. 

Man-tln-e'-a, battle of, 184, 196. 

Mar'-a-thon, battle of, 124-127, 
154. 

Mar-ceT-lus, 389. 

March of the Ten Thousand, 178, 
179. 

Mar-co-man'-ni, 427. 

Ma'-ri-us, 342-344. 

later years of, 349, 350. 

Mar§, a farm god, 257. 

father of Romulus and Remus, 
250. 

Mar-tel', Charles, 485, 494. 

Mas-i-niss'-a, 300, 319. 

Mas-sil'-i-a, 95, 120. 

Mathematics, Greek, 235. 

Mau-re-ta'-ni-a, made a Roman 
province, 402. 

Max-en'-ti-us, 446. 

Max-I'-mi-an, 445. 

Maz'-a-ca, 228. 

Mec'-ca, 492. 

Me-de'-a, 98, 172, 173. 

Mede§, 66, 70, 127. 

Med-i-o-la'-num, 429. 

Meg-a-lop'-o-lis, 184. 

Meg'-a-ra, 96, 97, 142, 147, 220. 

Me-gid'-do, 24, 25. 

Mem-o-ra-bil'-i-a, 146, 147, 196. 

Me-nan'-der, 239. 

influence of, on Roman Com- 
edy, 323. 

Men-e-la'-us, 87. 

Me'-ne§, 10. 

Men'-on, 147. 

Merovingians, 482, 484, 485. 486. 

M es-o-po-t am '-i-a, 3 1 . 

Mes-sa'-la, 228. 

Mes-sa'-na, 282. 

Mes-se'-ne, 118. 

Me-tau'-rus River, battle of, 299. 

Met'-ic, 149. 

Metropolitan, 458, 459. 



Migrations, Dorian, 84, 85. 

Gallic (or Celtic), 217, 269, 
270. 

German, 245, 343, 344, 364, 
461, 468, 488. 

Hittite, 43. 

of Greeks, 49, 79, 83, 84, 85. 

of Huns, 463, 467. 

Semitic, 8, 33, 53. 
Mi-le'-tus, captured by Darius, 
124. 

philosophers of, 122. 

trade and importance, 85, 
120. 
Mil-ti'-a-des, 125, 139, 175. 
Mil'-vi-an Bridge, battle of, 446, 

451. 
Mi'-na, value of, 137. 
Min-o'-ans, see Cretans. 
Ml-nos, 44, 49. 
Min'-o-taur, 45. 

Mith-ra-da'-tes, 347-349, 358, 359. 
Mithradatic Wars, 347-349, 358- 

360. 
Mith'-ras, worship of, 432, 433. 
Mit-y-le'-ne, 109, 120, 121. 
Mce'-si-a, 464. 
Mo-gun-ti'-a-cum, 429, 482. 
Mo-ham'-med, 492-494. 
Mohammedanism, 491-495. 
Money, see Coinage. 
Monument of An-cy'-ra, 389. 
Mop-su-hes'-ti-a, 228. 
Moses, 53. 
Mos'-lem, 493. 
Mosque of Saint Sophia, 479. 
Mt. Ec'-no-mus, 286. 
Museum at Alexandria, 236. 
Mvc'-a-le, 131. 
My-ce'-nee, 46, 83, 84, 90. 
My-cen-se'-ans, 42, 44-49. 
MyMce, 286. 
My'-ron, 162. 

Na'-ples, 95, 97. 
Nar-bo Mar'-ti-us, 429. 



INDEX 



547 



Nar-cis'-sus, 401. 
Nar'-se§, 470. 
Nau-si-cy'-de§:, 147. 
Nau-sin-i'-cus, 187, 188. 
Nax'-os, 136. 
Ne-ar'-chus, 210. 
Neb-u-chad-neV-zar, 67, 68. 
Ne'-cho, 67. 
Ne-mau'-sus, 429. 
Nep'-e-te, 271. 
Nep'-tune, 326. 
Ne'-ro, 402, 403. 
Ni-cae'-a, Council of, 454. 
Nicias (Nish'-i-as), 167, 168. 
Nl-eop'-o-lis, 227. 
Nin'-e-veh, 62, 63. 
Nobles, Egyptian, 12, 13. 

in Greece, 105, 106, 109. 

in Homeric Age, 89. 

in Rome, 254, 259, 260, 303, 
304, 308, 333, 334, 336, 337. 

Macedonian, 189. 

Ob'-ol, 154. 

Oc-ta'-vi-us, see Augustus. 

a tribune, 335. 
O-de-nath'-us, 442, 444. 
O-do-a'-cer, 469, 470. 
O-dys'-seus, 88, 90. 
Od'-ys-sey, 85, 87-91, 120, 236. 

translated into Latin, 323. 
O-lym'-pI-a, 92, 132, 162, 163, 

191, 197. 
O-lym'-pi-as, 202. 
Olympic Games, 103-105, 457. 
O-lyn'-thi-acs, 190. 
O-lyn'-thus, 96, 190, 191, 199. 
Oracles, 91, 92. 
Or-chom'-e-nos, 83. 
0-res'-te§, in Greek mythology, 
155. 

Roman patrician, 468. 
O-sI'-ris, 15. 

Os'-tra-cism, 108, 109, 128, 140. 
Os'-tro-goths, 463. 

Arian faith of, 472. 



Os'-tro-goths, conquered by Nar- 
ses, 476. 
kingdom in Italy, 471-473. 
Ovid, 396. 

Pse-a'-ni-a, 187. 

Pagan revival under Julian, 456. 

worship suppressed, 457, 458. 
Painting, Cretan, 47, 48. 

Greek, see illustrations of 
vase-paintings. 

in Pompeian houses, 414. 
Pal'-a-tme, 251. 
Pal'-es-tine, 204, 212. 
Pal'-las, 402. 

Pal-my'-ra, kingdom of, 442, 444. 
Pan-a-then-a'-ic festival, 137, 161, 

212. 
Pan-hel-len'-ic, congress and war, 
191, 192, 203. 

games, 102-105. 

shrines, 102. 
Pan-no'-ni-a, 427, 469. 
Papacy, alliance with the Caro- 
lingians, 495. 

establishment of, 486-487. 

temporal power of, 495. 
Pap-in'-i-an, 447, 478. 
Pa-py'-rus, 195. 
Par'is, 87. 

Par-men'-I-o, 204, 206. 
Par'-the-non, 160-162, 164. 
Par'-thl-a, 207. 
Pa'-ter fa-mil'-i-as, 261. 
Pa'-trse, 220. 
Pat-ri'-ci-ans, 260. 
Pa-tro'-clus, 87. 
Paul, the apostle, 416-418. 
Paulus, Julius, the jurist, 447, 
478. 

Lu-ci-us ^E-mil'-i-us, 316. 
Peace of Antalcidas, 180, 181. 
Peace of Nicias (Nish'-i-as), 167, 

168. 
Ped'-i-ment, 160. 
Pe-lop'-i-das, 181-183. 



548 



INDEX 



Peloponnesian League, see also 
Sparta, 
broken by Epaminondas, 184, 

185. 
growth of, 118. 
jealousy toward Athens, 137, 

142. 
war with Athens, 165, 166. 
Peloponnesian War, causes of, 
165, 166. 
divisions of, 166. 
results of, 171, 172. 
Peloponnesus, cities of, join Ach- 
aean League, 220. 
conquered by Dorians, 85. 
geography of, 81. 
hostility to Athens, 139, 140. 
invaded by Epaminondas, 184. 
Pent'-ath-lon, 103. 
Per-dic'-cas, 203. 
Per'-ga-mum, 216, 223, 236-238. 
becomes a Roman province, 
320. 
Pericles, Age of, 145-147, 153-157. 
circle of, 163. 
death of, 167. 
development of Athens under, 

142-144. 
elected Strategus, 141. 
leader of the Democracy, 140. 
Thucydides' opinion of, 141, 
142. 
Per-I-ce'-ci, 111, 112. 
Persecutions of Christianity, 433, 
434. 
under Decius, 447, 448. 
under Diocletian, 448, 449. 
Per-sep'-o-lis, 207. 
Per'-seus, 223, 316. 
Persian Empire, civilization and 

extent, 71-73, 204. 
Persians, alliance with Sparta 
against Athens, 171. 
civilization of, 71-73. 
conquered by Alexander, 205- 
210. 



Persians, conquest of Asia Minor, 
122, 123. 
dictate Peace of Antalcidas, 

180, 181. 
drama of .Eschylus, 154. 
empire of, 71, 72. 
invaded by the Greeks, 178, 

179. 
invade Greece, 123-132, 134, 

142, 143. 
new empire of, 444. 
relationship of, 70. 
resources of, 203, 204. 
united under Cyrus the Great, 
70, 71. 
Petrine doctrine, 459. 
Pha'-lanx, 184, 204, 206. 
Pha'-ra, 220. 

Pha'-ra-oh (or Fa'-ro), 1Q 
Pha'ros, 229. 
Pheidon (fa'-don), 118. 
Phid'-i-as, 161-164, 197. 
Phl-dit'-i-a, 114. 

Philip II, of Macedon, conquers 

and unites Greece, 192, 193. 

plan of invading Persia, 191, 

192, 203. 
training and character, 189, 

190. 
V, of Macedon, 222. 223, 298, 
314, 315. 
Phfl'-ip-pl, 381. 
Phil-ip'-pics, 190. 
PM-hV-tines, 54. 
Phi'-lo, 373. 

Philosophy, 193-195, 212. 
Epicurean, 240, 241. 
Ionian, 121, 122. 
of Aristotle, 233. 
of Plato, 193-195. 
of Socrates, 183. 
Stoic, 241, 242, 435. 
Pho-cae'-a, 95. 
Pho'-cis, 142. 

Phoenicia (fee-nish'-ya), colonies 
in west, 50, 51. 



INDEX 



549 



Phoenicia, country and people, 
49, 50. 

importance of, 93. 

trade of, 99, 146. 
Phra '-tries, (or phrat'-ries), 82, 

83, 148. 
Phryg'-i-a, 171, 216. 
Phy'-le, 149. 
Physics, Greek, 235. 
Pl-ce'-num, 292. 
Pilatus, Pontius, 416. 
Pillars of Hercules, 215. 
Pin'-dar, 104, 105. 
Pin'-dus, 85. 
Pip'-pin, 485. 

the short, 486, 495. 
Pi-rae'-us, 166, 171. 

trade of, 146. 

walls of, 138, 139. 

walls rebuilt, 180. 
Pl-sis'-tra-tus, 107-109, 135. 
Pla-cen'-ti-a, 292. 
Pla-tae'-a, battle of, 131, 134. 

sends aid to Athens, 125. 
Pla'-to, 113, 193-195. 
Plau'-tus, 323, 324. 
Plebeians (ple-be'-ans), 260. 
Plin'-y, 432, 433. 
Plu'-tarch, 112, 114, 146, 168, 

201, 252, 434, 435. 
Pol'-em-arch, 105. 
Polity of the Athenians, 146. 
Pol'-li-o, A-sin'-i-us, 391, 398. 
Po-lyb'-i-us, 283, 402. 
Po-mo'-na, 256. 
Pompeii, 406, 409-414. 
Pompeius (Pom-pa '-us), Gnae-us, 
350, 354, 355. 

breaks with Caesar, 363, 365. 

defeat and death, 367, 368. 

return to Rome from east, 
361. 
Pompey, see Pompeius. 
Pont'-i-fex Maximus, 383. 
Pon'-tus, 120, 146, 213. 
Po'-rus, 209. 



Po-si-do'-ni-us, 373. 
Pot-i-dae'-a, 96, 97. 
Praetorian Guard, 401, 438. 
Prae'-tors, 267, 305, 310, 426. 
Prax-it'-el-e§, 197. 
PrI'-am, 87. 
Prln'-ceps, 383. 
Proc-u'-ra-tor, 406. 
Pro-pon'-tis, 94, ISO. 
Proscriptions, of Sulla, 351. 

under Octavius and Antony, 
380. 
Provinces, Roman, added 241- 
133 b. c, 309. 

Africa, prosperity of, 440. 

Arabia, 423. 

Armenia, 423. 

Assyria, 423. 

Dacia, 423. 

governors of, 310. 

imperial, 384. 

increased in number, 445, 446. 

Mauretania, 402. 

Mesopotamia, 423. 

Senatorial, 385. 

Thrace, 402. 

under Augustus, 384. 
Provincial System, Assyrian, 65, 
66. 

Roman, 310, 311. 
Pru-si'-as, 301. 
Pryt'-a-ny, 150. 
Ptolemy (tol'-g-mi), 216, 223. 

V, 226. 
Publicans, 311. 
Punic Wars, 282-290, 292-300, 

319-320. 
Punt (Poont), 26. 
Pu-te'-o-li, 375. 
Pyr'-a-mids, 18, 19. 
Pyr'-rhus, 177, 218, 276, 277, 280, 

281. 
Pyth'-e-as, 233. 
Pyth'-i-an Games, 104, 105, 154. 

Qua'-dl, 427. 



550 



INDEX 



Quaes'-tors, 267. 
Quin'-que-re-mes, 285. 

Ram'-e-seg II, 28, 29. 

Ill, 84. 
Ra-ven'-na, 472. 
Re (ra), 15. 

Reg'-u-lus, 284, 286, 287. 
Religion, Babylonian, 39. 

Christian, see Christianity. 

Egyptian, 14, 17, 27, 28. 

Greek, 82, 102, 104. 

Hebrew, 53, 55-58, 226. 

late Greek, 240, 241. 

Pagan, under the Roman 
Empire, 432. 

Roman, change in, 325. 
early beliefs, 256. 

unity established by Justin- 
ian, 476, 477. 
Re-mus, 250. 
Republic of Plato, 194. 
Rha-'-ti-a, 427. 
Rhe'-a Sil'-vi-a, 250. 
Rhe'-gi-um, 276. 

Rhodes, commerce of, destroyed 
by Rome, 318. 

important trade-center, 231. 

settled by Dorians, 85. 
Ric'-i-mer, 468. 
Roads, Roman, see Highways. 
Rome, administration of, under 
Augustus, 385, 386. 

beautified by Augustus, 386. 

beautified by Nero, 403. 

burned by the Gauls, 269, 270. 

early appearance of, 255, 271. 

expansion eastward, 320, 321. 

founding of, 250, 251. 

its beauty under the Anto- 
nines, 431, 432. 

military strength of, 283. 

rise of power, 218. 
R6m'-u-lus, 250. 

Augustulus, 468. 
Ro-set'-ta Stone, 8, 9, 226. 



Rox-a'-ne, 207, 215. 

Ru'-fus, Quin'-tus Cur'-tius, 201. 

Sa-bl'-nus, 228. 

Sacred Band, 183. 

Sacred games, see Olympic games. 

Sa-gun'-tum, 295. 

Sal'-a-mis, battle of, 130, 131, 134, 

154, 155, 207. 
Sa-mar'-i-a, 57. 
Samnite Wars, 273, 274. 
Sam'-nites, 272. 
Sa'-mos, 85, 121. 
Sam'-o-thrace, 238. 
San-he'-drin, 416. 
Sappho (Saf'-o), 121. 
Sardinia-Corsica, Roman province 

of, 289, 309. 
Sar'-dis, 146, 178. 
Sargon, Assyrian king, 62. 

early Babylonian king, 33. 
Sat-f-cul-a, 274. 
Sat'-urn, 256. 
Sat-ur-ni'-nus, 344. 
Saul, 54. 

Saxons, 488, 496. 
Schliemann (Schlee'-man), 45, 46. 
Scipio (sip'-i-o), conqueror of 
Hannibal, 299. 

the Younger, 320. 
Sculpture, Egyptian, 14. 

Greek, 161-163, 197. 

Hellenistic Greek, 238, 239. 

Hittite, 43. 

in Pompeian houses, 414. 
Scy'-ros (si'-ros), 180. 
Scyth'-i-ans, 201. 
Scy-thop'-o-lis (si'-), 228. 
Second Athenian League, 187, 

188. 
Sel-eu-ci'-a, 231. 
Se-leu'-cids, 216, 223. 
Se-leu'-cus, 216, 217, 232. 
Sem'-ites, see Languages, Semitic, 

33. 
Senate, Greek, see Boule\ 



INDEX 



551 



Senate, Roman, attacked by the 
Gracchi, 336. 
breaks with Caesar, 364, 

365. 
composition of, 303, 304. 
duties of, 308. 
loss of influence of, under 

Severus, 438. 
power of, 308. 
powers of, under Augustus, 

384. 
reasons for powers of, 309. 
restored by Sulla, 351-353. 
voting in, 307. 
under Tiberius, 400. 
Sen'-e-ca, 402, 405, 419-420. 
Sen-nach'-e-rib, 62, 63. 
Se-ra'-pis, worship at Rome, 327. 
Ser-to'-ri-us, 354. 
Set, 15. 

Se-ve'-rus, Sep-tim'-i-us, 437, 438. 
Shek'-el, 37 (note). 
Si-ciT-ian Ex-pe-di'-tion, 166, 169, 

170. 
Sic'-i-ly, Athenian Expedition to, 
166, 169, 170. 
Carthaginian wars in, 131, 

174, 177, 279, 280. 
Dionysius conquers, 174, 175, 

280. 
grain imported into Italy 

from, 331, 332. 
Greek colonies in, 95, 96. 
Phoenician colonies in, 50. 
prosperity of Greek cities in, 

153. 
province of, 288, 309. 
Pyrrhus in, 218, 277, 281. 
Roman conquest of, 282, 
283-288. 
Sicyon (sish'-i-on), 109, 142, 220. 
Sl'-don, 50, 51. 
Sil'-phl-um, 96, 97. 
Sl'-nal, 53. 
Sl-no'-pe, 96. 
Sir'-mi-um, 429. 



Skene (ska-na/), 154. 
Slavery, effects of, in Italy, 333. 
Greek use of, in industry 

199, 200. 
in Athens, 149. 
in Babylonia, 36. 
in Homeric age, 90. 
Roman, Greek slaves as 
teachers, 325. 
Slave War in Italy, 354, 355. 
used as gladiators, 355. 
Roman traffic in, 332. 
Social Classes, at Rome, 260, 304, 
331, 333. 
in Athens, 105, 106. 
in Egypt, 12, 13. 
in Sparta, 107, 108. 
Social War, 345, 346. 
Soc'-ra-teg, 146, 185, 186, 193, 196. 
appearance of, 185. 
importance and death of, 185, 

186. 
memorabilia of, 146, 147, 196. 
teacher of Plato, 193. 
teacher of Xenophon, 196. 
Sog-di-an'-a, 207. 
Soissons (swas-son'), vase of, 483. 
Sol'-o-mon, 54. 

So'-lon, 106, 107, 109, 140, 200. 
Soph'-ists, 167, 168, 172, 191, 203. 
Soph'-o-cle§, 153, 155-157, 163, 

172, 173. 
So'-this, 10. 

Spain, Caesar's operations in, 
367. 
Carthaginian control of, 279, 

289, 292, 293. 
coast of, colonized by Phoe- 
nicians, 50. 
conquered by Scipio, 299. 
Mohammedan conquest of 

494. 
Phoenician trade with, 51. 
Pompey's career in, 354. 
Roman emperor from, 422. 
Roman highways in, 429. 



552 



INDEX 



Spain, Roman provinces of, 300, 
309. 
Sertorius ruler in, 354. 
Vandal occupation of, 466, 

467. 
Visigothic kingdom of, 467, 
494. 
Sparta, conquest of Athens, 165, 
166, 167, 170, 171. 
description of, 111. 
Dorian conquest of, 85, 86, 

111. 
education in, 112, 113, 114. 
expansion of, 117, US. 
governmental system, 102^ 

115, 117. 
head of Peloponnesian Lea- 
gue, 115, 118. 
in Persian Wars, 134. 
jealousy toward Athens, 138, 

139, 140, 142. 
leadership of Greece, 177-182. 
life in, 114. 
power broken by Thebes, 

182-185. 
revival of, 221, 222. 
social classes in, 111, 112. 
spirit of, 113. 
Spar'-ta-cus, 355. 
Sta'-di-um, 103, 212. 
Sta-gi'-an, 194. 

State of the Lacedaemonians, 196. 
Stil'-I-cho, 465, 466. 
Sto'-i-cism, 212, 241, 419, 420. 
Stra'-bo, 22. 

Strassburg, battle of, 456, 463. 
Stra-te'-gus, 141, 221. 
Stry'-mon, 123. 
Sulla, 342, 346. 

civil war with Marius, 349- 

351. 
reforms of, 351-353. 
Su'-sa, 207, 211. 
Su'-tri-um, 271. 
Sy-ag'-ri-us, 482, 483. 
Syb'-a-ris, 95, 99. 



Sym'-ma-chus, 472. 
Syr'-a-cuse, alliance of, with 
Rome, 284. 
Athenian expedition against, 

166, 170. 
captured by the Romans, 

298 (note), 
founded by Corinth, 95, 96. 
prosperity of, 99, 153. 
wars of, against Carthage, 

131, 174-176, 218, 279, 280. 
Syr'-i-a, Assyrian conquest of, 61, 

62. 
becomes a Roman province, 

359. 
conquered by Nebuchadnez- 
zar, 67. 
conquered by Rome, 224. 
Egyptian conquest of, 23, 24. 
Greek kingdom of, 216, 223. 
part of Persian empire, 71. 
royal domains in, 360. 
war of Antiochus with Rome, 

315. 

Ta'c-i-tus, 400, 462. 

Tal'-ent, 211, 228 (note). 

Tangiers (Tan-jer'), 428. 

Ta-rac'-co, 429. 

Tar'as, 228. 

Ta-ren'-tum, capture of, 278. 

colonized by Sparta, 95. 

war with Rome, 218, 276-278. 
Tar'-quin, 253. 

the Proud, 253. 
Tar'-shish, 51. 
Tar'-sus, 28. 

Tau'-ric Cher'-so-nese, 347. 
Taxation, Roman Republic, 311. 

under Augustus, 385. 
Tax-farming, 311. 
Tell-el-A-mar'-na Letters, 25, 40. 
Temples, Babylonian, 38. 

Greek, 159-161. 

in Pompeii, 410. 411. 
Ter'-ence, 239, 324, 325. 



INDEX 



553 



Ter-tul'-li-an, 449. 
Teu'-tons, see Germans, 
Tha'-les, 122. 
Thap'-sus, battle of, 369. 
Theban Supremacy, 184, 185. 
Thebes (Thebs), freed from Sparta, 
181, 182. 

hatred toward Athens, 171. 

in Bceotia, captured by 
Sparta, 181. 

in Egypt, 21. 

joins alliance against Sparta, 
ISO. 

leadership in Greece, 182- 
185. 

population of, 199. 
The-mis'-to-cle§, at Salamis, 130, 
131. 

builds the walls at Athens, 
138. 

naval policy of, 127, 128. 

tricks the Spartans, 138, 139, 
The-o'-crit-us, 239. 
The-6d' o-ric, 469-473. 
The-o-do'-si-us I, 457, 458, 465. 

II, 477. 
The-o-phras'-tus, 235. 
Ther-mop'-y-k , battle of, 130. 
The'-seus, 45. 
Thes-sal-o-nl'-ea, 417. 
Thes'-sa-ly, 85, 188, 190, 217, 223. 
The'-tes, 107, 109, 125, 127, 139. 

140. 
Thoth'-mes, 24. 
Thrace, 123, 128, 134. 

becomes a Roman province, 
402. 
Thu-cyd'i-des, 141, 166, 169, 170. 
Thu'-ri-I, 276. 
Ti'-ber, 246. 
Tl-be'-ri-us, 389, 400. 
Tig'-lath Pil-e'-ser IV, 61. 
Ti'-gris River, 206. 
Tim-gad', 440. 
Ti-mo'-le-on, 176, 280. 
Tir'-yns, 49. 



Titus, 406, 407. 

Trade, Babylonian, 36, 37. 

Cretan, 49. 

Egyptian, 13, 14, 25, 26. 

Greek, 199-201. 

in Alexander's empire, 229- 

231. 
new centers of, after Alex- 
ander, 229, 231. 

of Athens, 146, 147, 166. 

of Byzantium, 97. 

of Constantinople, 478. 

of Pompeii, 412. 

of the Roman empire, 429. 
430. 

Phoenician, 50, 51, 99. 

Roman, 281, 282, 291. 

routes to the east, 230. 
Tragedy, Greek, 153-157, 172, 

173. 
Tra'-jan, column of, 431. 

conquests of, 423. 

provinces acquired by, 423. 

the Statesman, 423, 425. 
Tra-pe'-zus, 96, 120, 179. 
Tras-i-me'-ne Lake, battle of, 297. 
Treasurers of the Goddess, 188. 
Treb'-i-a, battle of, 297. 
Tribes, Greek, 82-85. 

Roman, 258. 
Tri-bo'-ni-an, 477. 
Tribunate, 263. 

re-established in 70 b. c, 357. 

weakened by Sulla, 352. 
Tribunes, 258, 264, 305. 
Tri'-bute, 145. 
Tril'-o-gy, 155. 
Trip'-o-lis, 228. 
Trl'-reme§, 128, 129, 138. 
Tri-tae'-a, 220. 
Triumph, Roman, 316, 317. 
Tri-um'-vi-rate, the First, 462, 
463. 

the Second, 380, 381. 
Tro'-ad, 85. 
Troy, 87-89. 



554 



INDEX 



Tul'-li-us, Ser'-vi-us, 253, 259. 
Tu'-nic, 113, 147. 
Twelve Tables, see Laws. 

used as text-books, 325. 
Ty'-rant, 107-109, 131. 
Tyre, 50, 51. 
Tyr-tae'-us, 118. 

Ul'-pi-an, 439, 447, 478. 
Universities, Greek, 195. 

Justinian closes, 496, 497. 
Ur, 33. 
Ur'-uk, 33. 
U-ser-tes'-en, 21. 

Val'-ens, 456, 457. 
Val-en-tin'-ian, 456. 
Vandals, 466, 467, 475, 476. 
Var'-ro, 252. 

Var'-us, Qum-til'-i-us, 389. 
Veii (ve'-yi), 271. 
Ve'-nus, 250, 257, 326. 
Vergil, 391, 405. 
Ves-pa'-sian, 404-406. 
Ves'-ta, 256, 412. 
Vesuvius, eruption of, 409. 
Via Au-re'-li-a, 429. 

Flaminia, 292. 
Vin-do-bo'-na, 429. 
Vin-do-nis'-sa, 429. 
Visigoths, allies of Theodoric, 471. 

conquered by Mohammedans, 
494. 

cross the Danube, 463, 464. 

pushed west by Huns, 456. 

settle in Spain, 467. 
Vi-tel'-li-us, 403. 
Vol'-scians, 268. 
Volutes, 160. 

War Ar'-chon, 105. 



Weapons, a lead bullet, 346. 
of Alexander's troops, 205. 
of Greek hoplites, 125. 
of Roman gladiators, 376, 

377. 
primitive, 3. 
Roman, 295. 
Women, Aspasia, wife of Pericles, 

163, 164. 
Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, 

368, 381, 382. 
influence of, in the Roman 

empire, 439, 440. 
Olympias, wife of Alexander, 

202. 
Roman republic, 328, 334. 
Roxane, wife of Alexander, 

207, 215. 
Spartan, 113, 114. 
the Queen Zenobia, 442. 

Xen'-o-phon (zen-), as an his- 
torian, 195, T96. 
Expedition of 10,000, 178. 
relations with Socrates, 146, 
185, 196. 
Xer'-xes (zer-), 127, 129, 131, 154, 
155. 

Za'-ma, battle of, 299. 
Ze'-no, 241. 
Zen-o'-bi-a, 442, 444. 
Zeug'-ma, 228. 
Zeus, 82. 

Ammon, 209. 

Cretan origin of, 49. 

head of Greek religion, 91. 

identified with Jupiter, 326. 

worship of, at Olympia, 92, 
102, 132, 162, 163. 
Zoology of Ar'-is-totle, 194. 



(l) 



SEP 16 1912 










L* <K>[ 






/ 



Date Due 



// 







CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL 
Washington, D. C. 



